Australian authorities urge thousands to flee New South Wales bushfires

Wildfires swept through thousands of hectares of bushland in New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue top-level evacuation warnings for thousands of residents in the country’s most populous state.

The highest alert was declared for the Phegans Bay and Woy Woy areas on the Central Coast, home to over 350,000 people and located about 45 km north of Sydney, the nation’s largest city.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, up to 16 homes have been destroyed in the affected region.

“Leave now if the route towards Woy Woy is safe,” the state’s Rural Fire Service advised on its website.

A heatwave on Saturday, with temperatures reaching 42°C, worsened the fire risk, the Bureau of Meteorology reported. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged residents to look out for one another and follow official guidance.

More than 50 bushfires were burning across the state late on Saturday, including a major blaze in the Upper Hunter region, also at the highest emergency level, which had already consumed nearly 10,000 hectares.

Authorities have warned of a severe bushfire season this Australian summer after several quieter years. The “Black Summer” fires of 2019–2020 destroyed an area the size of Türkiye and claimed 33 lives.

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