Hundreds evacuated due to bushfires in Australia

Canberra, Sep 10 (IANS) Some 400 people have been evacuated from their homes in Australia due to at least 130 bushfires that are still ravaging the area, authorities said on Tuesday.Queensland's acting premier, Jackie Trad, said it was "nothing short of a miracle" that so far, only material damages have been reported and there have been no casualties, reports Efe news.Around 1,000 firefighters were struggling to quench more than 80 fires in Queensland alone, a region that has been hit by an intense and prolonged drought.Meanwhile, at least 50 fires were blazing in the state of New South Wales (NSW).The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of danger due to the high intensity of winds in the Queensland area.The tourist area of the Sunshine Coast was the main area of concern, particularly the coastal town of Peregian, located some 120 km north of Brisbane, where some 400 people have been moved to evacuation centres.The Queensland Police are investigating eight of these fires, which seem to have been started deliberately.In NSW, three fires, out of the more than 50 active blazes, have burned more than 115,000 hectares of land.The fire season in Australia varies according to area and weather conditions, but is generally recorded between spring and summer (December to March).The most serious fire in Australia in recent decades burned through 4,500 sq.km in the state of Victoria in February 2009, causing 173 deaths and 414 injuries.
--IANS ksk