Tag: #Bushfire
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Australia heatwave renews bushfire worries
Sydney, Jan 30 (AFP/APP): Australia was bracing for a heatwave to sweep across the country’s fire-ravaged southeast in the coming days, with the forecast stoking fears the soaring temperatures could inflame bushfires. Temperatures reached above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday in South Australia state, where dangerous fire weather warnings were issued in…
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Probe begins into deadly crash of firefighting tanker in Australia
Sydney, Jan 24 (AFP/APP): Investigators Friday began searching the wreckage of a large tanker aircraft which crashed while battling devastating bushfires in Australia, killing three US crew members. The C-130 Hercules plane slammed into the ground Thursday shortly after dropping a load of fire retardant on a blaze in the Snowy Mountains region of southeastern…
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Firefighting plane ‘may have crashed’ while battling Australia blaze
Sydney, Jan 23 (AFP/APP): A water-bombing plane may have crashed while fighting a massive bushfire in mountains near Sydney, Australian authorities said, as blazes flared across the country Thursday. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service said it was “investigating reports of a serious incident involving an aircraft in southern NSW this afternoon”. “Contact was…
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Australia capital airport closed as bushfires flare anew
Sydney, Jan 23 (AFP/APP): Bushfires near the Australian capital Canberra forced the city’s airport to close on Thursday, as passenger flights were halted to make way for aircraft working to extinguish the blazes, authorities said. High temperatures and strong winds fuelled an outbreak of new blazes across several areas in eastern Australia on Thursday, ending…
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Tendulkar, Walsh to coach Aussie bushfire relief match
Sydney, Jan 21 (AFP/APP): Cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Courtney Walsh will coach star-studded teams in a charity match to raise funds for victims of Australia’s bushfires, organisers said Tuesday. The former Test captains are the latest players to come out of retirement for the appeal, joining Aussie greats Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Michael Clarke…
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Giant dust storm engulfs outback Australia
SYDNEY, Jan. 20 (XinhuaAPP): A huge dust storm has blanketed large parts of outback Australia over the weekend, with videos and images posted on social media showing the jaw-dropping scale of the strange weather event. Stretching from Broken Hill across to Nyngan, Parkes and Dubbo in the central-west of New South Wales State, local resident…
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Threatened species hit hard by Australia’s bushfires
Sydney, Jan 20 (AFP/APP): Australia’s bushfires have burned more than half the known habitat of 100 threatened plants and animals, including 32 critically endangered species, the government said Monday. Wildlife experts worry that more than a billion animals have perished in the unprecedented wave of bushfires that have ravaged eastern and southern Australia for months.…
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Rainstorms douse bushfires across eastern Australia
Sydney, Jan 18 (AFP/APP): Rain and thunderstorms doused long-burning bushfires across much of eastern Australia Saturday, but they also brought a new threat of flooding in some areas. Major bushfires continued to rage in regions of the south and southeast of the country that have so far missed out on the rain, including in wildlife-rich…
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Fires, then floods: How much can a koala bear?
Sydney, Jan 17 (AFP/APP): A week ago, koalas at an Australian wildlife park were in the path of raging bushfires. On Friday, they were soaking wet and being carried to safety from flash floods. Months of drought that have contributed to Australia’s catastrophic bushfire season have this week given way to huge downpours in some…
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Rain hits Australian fires, but blazes still rage
Sydney, Jan 17 (AFP/APP): Heavy rain fell on bushfires in eastern Australia Friday for a second straight day, offering further relief from a months-long crisis, but dozens of blazes remained out of control. This week’s wet weather has given exhausted firefighters a major boost in battling unprecedented blazes that have been fuelled by climate change…