SYDNEY, AUS. (THECOUNT) — Thousands of vacationers and locals are reportedly trapped on a beach amid a raging fire burning in southeast Australia Tuesday near a popular tourist area.
According to reports, there is no escape by land.
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As many as four thousand people are trapped on the foreshore of the encircled seaside town of Mallacoota, as smoke turned day to night and the authorities said nearby fires were causing extreme thunderstorms and “ember attacks,” reports CTVNews Monday night.
“We’ve got a fire that looks like it’s about to impact on Mallacoota,” Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp told public broadcaster ABC, adding that firefighters have been deployed to protect the group.
Authorities had for days been warning up to 30,000 tourists enjoying Australia’s summer holidays to evacuate the area.
“We’ve got three strike teams in Mallacoota that will be looking after 4,000 people down on the beach there,” Crisp said. “We’re naturally very concerned about communities that have become isolated.”
Preparations were reportedly under way for a sea or airborne evacuation if needed.
The ocean is a “last resort option” according to Victoria’s emergency management agency.
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Geo quick facts: Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world’s sixth-largest country by total area – Wikipedia.