Authorities have warned “people will burn to death” after The Bureau of Meteorology declared a catastrophic fire danger for the first-ever time in the region. Record temperatures soaring above 40C (104F) and strong winds have spread the fires which led to the evacuation of 8,000 residents from the town of Gracemere. Deputy Police Commissioner, Bob Gee said: “If you have children with you, you need to think really hard about not losing a house, but losing the people you care most about.
“People will burn to death. Their normal approaches probably won’t work if this situation develops the way it is predicted to develop.”
He added: “It is no different to a Category 5 cyclone coming through your door.”
Several properties are reported to have been destroyed since the fires began burning across the weekend.
At least 34 schools have been closed but it is not yet known if there have been any casualties.
Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk said the situation was “unprecedented” and “uncharted”.
Ms Palaszczuk said: “We have never, ever in this state been in this situation before.
“We have not had a catastrophic level. This is uncharted waters.”
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has been working tirelessly to tackle the blaze using aerial tankers to release water but in some places it has been “too dangerous” even for them to reach.
Katarina Carroll the Commissioner of the fire service said: “However, that cannot operate through the night, and in some of those areas it’s actually too dangerous to have crews in those areas.”
She added: “It is very difficult to get a sense of how long people have in the area because the winds are picking up faster than what was expected — so evolving, but very, very quickly.”
The extreme weather in Australia has also seen severe flooding further south in Sydney which has killed two people.
The city was left flooded after 91mm fell in just 90 minutes and Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said it was the region’s wettest November day since 1984.