Australian authorities steer mass evacuation as wildfires raze holiday towns
This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.Cars line up to leave the town of Batemans Bay in New South Wales to head north on January 2, 2020. A major operation to move people stranded in fire-ravaged seaside towns was under way in Australia on January 2 after deadly bushfires ripped through popular tourist spots and rural areas leaving at least eight people dead.
“The priority today is fighting fires and evacuating, getting people to safety,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Sydney. “There are parts of both Victoria and New South Wales which have been completely devastated, with a loss of power and communications.” “It’s 16-17 hours to the closest boat port, then we’ve got to come back,” HMAS Choules Commander Scott Houlihan said at an information session on Thursday afternoon. He said that leaving by boat was the only way out of the town.
A contingent of 39 firefighters from North America landed in Melbourne on Friday, bringing the number of U.S. and Canadian experts who have flown in to help deal with the crisis to almost 100.
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