"Scorched by days of unrelenting wildfires, parts of southeast Australia are facing 'catastrophic fire danger.' On Monday, officials declared a state of emergency for all of New South Wales, the country's most populous state.

"Catastrophic" conditions — the highest fire danger rating in the country — are expected to hit three areas in New South Wales, including the greater Sydney area. Residents were warned that homes cannot withstand this level of fires and that leaving early is the only way to survive.

"We don't know where the fires will flare up, but we do know when you have averages of 38 degrees [Celsius] and extremely windy conditions across the state that everybody has to be alert no matter where you are and we cannot allow complacency to creep in," the premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, said in a press conference Monday."

Paolo Zialcita reports for NPR November 11, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Australia's Bushfires Are Getting Worse. And Climate Change Is to Blame" (Bloomberg) [3]