Thousands Of New South Wales Residents Ordered To Refuge Due To Forest Fire

Australian authorities issued urgent evacuation orders for thousands of residents in New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state, after a growing forest fire scorched tens of thousands of hectares of shrubs.

A report from Reuters today, Saturday, December 6, stated that more than 50 hotspots were raging across the state, with some of them reaching the highest level of danger. The combination of heat waves that carry temperatures reaches 42 degC and strong winds exacerbates the risk of fire.

The most critical emergency warning was issued for areas such as Phegans Bay and Woy Woy in the Central Coast region, about 45 km north of Sydney, which is inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people.

Meanwhile, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has appealed to residents in the affected areas to evacuate immediately if the route is still safe to Woy Woy."

To date, at least 16 houses have reportedly been charred by the fire. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also expressed concern, asking all citizens to comply with the advice of the authorities and take care of each other. One of the worst hotspots, in the Upper Hunter region, reportedly has devoured nearly 10,000 hectares of land.