An emergency has been declared in the Australian Capital Territory due to raging bushfires in the southern part of Canberra, BBC reports.
Update: A state of emergency has been declared for the Canberra Region. Our system shows in 3D the extent of the #CanberraFires . The bright red circles represent the new location of fire spots. Grey circles represent old spots.
— OroraTech (@OroraTech) January 31, 2020
Location 📍: Canberra, AUS 20:28 AEDT pic.twitter.com/Ls8aFzvhWN
Australia fires: State of emergency declared for Canberra region https://t.co/idqLB1UBPU pic.twitter.com/icNCH1kUdO
— GistAfri.com (@GistAfri_com) January 31, 2020
The region is witnessing the worst fires in almost 2 decades. The last time they were such a huge matter of concern, it was 2003, and 4 people lost their lives.
#Breaking: #Australia declared the first state of emergency in almost two decades in Canberra as bushfire bears down on Australian capital.Since Sep, #bushfires have killed at least 33 people and destroyed vast swathes of Australia. pic.twitter.com/XW056k8Pko
— Economic Daily, China (@EDNewsChina) January 31, 2020
This time around, it is expected that the fires might become ‘uncontrollable’, which is why a state of emergency has been imposed, to make sure the fire fighters have better chances of working things out.
The situation has been so bad, that the Canberra airport had to be shut off last week, due to fear of a fire accident.
#Australia fires: State of emergency declared for Canberra. Fires “may become uncontrollable” as temperatures climbed to 40C and they are fuelled by strong winds. https://t.co/ik9GOaQJrv
— UNDRR (@UNDRR) January 31, 2020
Stay safe Canberra, as the Chief Minister declares a state of emergency. Things can be replaced, you & your loved ones can’t. And now that apparently ‘disaster tourism’ is a thing….don’t be a complete cockwomble and stay well away from the south of Canberra. #CanberraFires
— Felicity Reynolds (@FlickReynolds) January 31, 2020
The authorities have also issued a statement to ‘disaster tourists’, urging them to stay away from the area. In Chief Minister Andrew Barr’s words:
I want to reinforce the message to disaster tourists they’re not welcome as this fire approaches.
This @NSWRFS map shows the POTENTIAL spread of fire based on models.
— Tahlia Roy (@TahliaRoy) January 31, 2020
The dark red areas show locations where fire may spread.
The red dotted areas show locations which may experience embers.
The Orroral Valley Fire is at Emergency level.
Canberra is in State of Emergency. pic.twitter.com/myr277zH5y
