AUSTRALIA: Residents and vacationers in some parts of the Australian state of Victoria were urged on Sunday to leave the city ahead of what is expected to be a day of extreme fire hazard.
Officials said temperatures of more than 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), strong winds, thunderstorms, and a wind shift across the state meant that Monday would be one of Victoria’s most important fire weather days.
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The State Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp ordered residents as well as tens of thousands of vacationers in the East Gippsland area to evacuate on Monday morning at the earliest.
While on Sunday, few events were canceled by organizers of a state music festival, citing Monday’s extreme weather forecast.
The music festival was supposed to run until New Year’s Eve and when the announcement was made, about 9,000 people were already camping on the site. New South Wales State is also facing severe fire weather in the days ahead, with temperatures forecast to rise on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a news conference, “Since this is a very extended fire season, our firefighters are being asked for additional requests.”
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Prime Minister Morrison had previously said that volunteer compensation was not a concern, but as the widespread fires burn, he faced increasing political pressure.
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