Photos: Australia orders evacuation of fire-ravaged towns before heatwave

In Australia, this season's blazes have destroyed more than 1,300 homes and scorched over 5.5 million hectares (13.5 million acres) across the country -- an area far greater than Denmark or the Netherlands. Suburbs of cities like Sydney and Melbourne, home to several million people, have also been hit by bushfires. The blazes have shrouded Australia's capital, Canberra, in acrid smoke haze that has travelled as far as New Zealand, turning the air over glacier peaks brown. Due to the unprecedented crisis, the Australia authorised forced evacuation of residents amid a mass exodus of tourists from fire-ravaged coastal communities, as the country braces for a weekend heatwave expected to fan deadly bushfires.

Updated on: Jan 03, 2020 5:29 PM IST

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People being evacuated from Mallacoota, Victoria state on a landing craft to MV Sycamore, during bushfire relief efforts. Australia authorised the forced evacuation of residents on Thursday amid a mass exodus of tourists from fire-ravaged coastal communities, as the country braces for a weekend heatwave expected to fan deadly bushfires. (Shane Cameron/ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY/AFP)

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People walking to a beach before being evacuated from Mallacoota, Victoria state to HMAS Choules, during bushfire relief efforts. Catastrophic blazes ripped through the country’s south-east on New Year’s Eve, killing at least 8 people and stranding holidaymakers. (Helen Frank/ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY/AFP)

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A helicopter drops water on a bushfire outside of Batemans Bay in New South Wales. New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a seven-day state of emergency that allows for forced evacuations beginning Friday, for the third time in Australia’s most populated region this fire season. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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People lining up to register for evacuation by HMAS Choules in Mallacoota during bushfire relief efforts. At least 18 people are now known to have died in one of Australia’s most devastating bushfire seasons yet, and there are growing fears the toll could rise dramatically, with officials in Victoria saying 17 people were missing in the state. (Shane Cameron/ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY/AFP)

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A firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra in New South Wales. NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance called it the “largest evacuation of people out of the region ever”, with a queue of cars stretching along the highway towards Sydney as thousands flee the area. One driver told AFP it had taken her three hours to travel just 50km. (Saeed Khan/AFP)

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People seen eating after evacuated from Mallacoota, Victoria state, during bushfire relief efforts. Visitors are being warned to leave affected areas before Saturday, when another heatwave is expected to sweep across the country, with gusting winds and temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). (Helen Franks/ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY/AFP)

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HMAS Choules sailing off the coast of Mallacoota, Victoria state to assist in bushfire relief efforts. Two Navy ships arrived in Mallacoota -- where people huddled on the foreshore for hours on New Year’s Eve as a fire bore down on the remote town -- to begin evacuating up to 4,000 people in an operation officials say could take weeks. (Helen Frank/ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY/AFP)

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Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) and MP Darren Chester (R) visit a wildflower farm in an area devastated by bushfires in Sarsfield, Victoria state. Scott Morrison has come under increasing pressure for his actions, which included holidaying in Hawaii as the disaster unfolded and reiterating his support for Australia’s lucrative -- but heavily polluting -- coal mining industry. (James Ross/POOL/AFP)

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People being evacuated from Mallacoota, Victoria state on a landing craft to MV Sycamore, during bushfire relief efforts. Victoria joint bushfire task force commander Doug Laidlaw saying the first evacuees would be moved onto the vessels Friday morning, with children, the sick and elderly taking priority. “If we need to reset and (return) again, weather permitting, that is exactly what will happen,” he said to AFP. (Shane Cameron/ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY/AFP)

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Cars line up to leave the town of Batemans Bay in New South Wales. The unprecedented crisis has sparked street protests calling on the government to immediately act on climate change, which scientists say is creating a longer and more intense bushfire season. (Peter Parks/AFP)