Bushfires in Australia

Torrential rain lashed Australia's southeast again on March 22, worsening once-in-a-century flooding that has forced 18,000 people to evacuate their homes and shuttered hundreds of schools.

The days-long deluge has inundated coastal areas of New South Wales, the country's most populous state, including parts of Sydney.

Devastating bushfires that swept Australia in recent months were at least 30 percent more likely as a result of climate change, scientists said on March 4, warning such fires may create unmanageable risks as emissions and temperatures rise further.

A four-day downpour across Australia's east coast has brought relief after months of devastating bushfires and years of drought, but also widespread storm damage and forecasts of more wild weather to come.   

Much of Australia's wildfire-ravaged east coast was drenched on Feb. 7 by the biggest rainfall in almost 20 years, dousing some of the most dangerous blazes and providing welcome relief to farmers battling an extended drought.   

Soaring temperatures and strong winds stoked unpredictable bushfires near Australia's capital city on Feb. 1, closing a major highway and prompting warnings for some residents that it was too late to evacuate.

Skies along the Monaro Highway in the Australian Capital Territory turned orange-red as an uncontrolled blaze ballooned to more than 35,000 hectares (74,000 acres) in size.

Australian officials declared a state of emergency for the capital city of Canberra and surrounding regions on Jan. 31, as soaring temperatures and strong winds threatened to propel a large bushfire beyond the control of firefighters.   

After weeks of criticism over the handling of the bushfires scorching Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Jan. 12 he will propose a national review into the response to the disaster, as the fires claimed another firefighter's life.     

At least one billion animals have been killed in the fires in Australia since September last year till today, according to a local environmentalist, DPA reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu expressed Turkey's support to Australia for the deadly bushfires that have ravished the country.

Ravaged by months-long bushfires, Australia is "going through the hardest period of its history," the president of the Greek Community of Melbourne said on Tuesday.