An unpredictable mix of fire and rain yesterday hit Victoria and New South Wales (NSW), as the country’s months-long bushfire crisis continued.
Hail the size of golf balls pelted some Melbourne suburbs as thunderstorms and heavy rain moved across southern Victoria.
Residents reported hailstones up to 5cm in diameter in Glen Iris, while fire-affected catchments in East Gippsland and Victoria’s northeast were now on flood watch, ABC News reported.
Photo: AFP
Rains have brought the number of fires burning across Australia’s east and south coast to under 100 for the first time in weeks, easing a disaster that has scorched an area about one-third the size of Germany.
Twenty-nine people have been killed in the fires, while millions of animals are also estimated to have perished.
There were fears yesterday that flash flooding and strong winds could topple trees, create landslides and send debris onto roads.
Severe thunderstorms were also forecast for large parts of NSW and flood warnings have been issued for the Bellinger and Orara rivers on the NSW mid-north coast.
Victoria State opposition leader Michael O’Brien said the state parliament should move at least one sitting week to bushfire-hit regions such as East Gippsland.
O’Brien said he had written to Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews, arguing that it would stimulate the economy and allow residents to speak to politicians directly.
As of yesterday, 69 fires were burning in NSW and 15 in Victoria.
Up to 15mm of rain was forecast to fall over parts of East Gippsland and up to 50mm on the NSW mid-north coast.
“Lightning strikes have the potential to start fires so that is a concern for us,” a Country Fire Association spokeswoman said.
Through East Gippsland all fires were burning at advice level.
However, fires remained at watch and act in the alpine region around Mount Buffalo national Park and the town of Bright.
Canberra said it would channel A$76 million (US$52.33 million) in what it described as an initial push to help the country’s A$152 billion tourism industry, which accounts for more than 3 percent of annual economic output.
Although rains have brought some relief, damage to the industry from the fires has approached A$1 billion and might top A$4.5 billion by the end of this year, Australian tourism bodies have estimated.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the bushfire crisis as the “biggest challenge in living memory” to Australian tourism.
In the package, A$20 million is to be spent on a domestic advertisement campaign and A$10 million has been set aside to create new tourist attractions, such as events, festivals or art, in bushfire-hit areas.
The rest of the package includes A$9.5 million to be spent on bringing international TV shows and media to Australia, A$6.5 million for Tourism Australia’s annual trade industry event and A$5 million for the country’s diplomatic network.
“People have stopped coming,” said Tony Coppins, owner of Kangaroo Island Safari and Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari, adding that he had received cancelations for next month and March.
“They think the whole island is on fire and it’s not, so we really need to send that message out that the island is still accessible,” he said.
“International visitors are critical and especially critical in places like Kangaroo Island or tropical North Queensland, and these are destinations that have relied upon a large part of their visitor market being international tourists and that’s why we got to recover those markets as quickly as we can,” Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said.
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