Photo story: Largest peacetime evacuation in Australia’s history of people affected by bushfires
Handout photos made available by the Australian Department of Defence shows evacuees from Mallacoota, Victoria State, being transported on a landing craft to Royal Australian Navy (RAN) MV Sycamore, at sea, Australia, 03 January 2020, during bushfire relief efforts.
According to media reports, the Australian navy has evacuated thousands of people from communities who were cut off due to the bushfires.
The naval evacuation been billed as the largest peacetime evacuation in Australia’s history.
Thousands have already fled at-risk coastal areas, creating traffic gridlock in places, and firefighters escorted convoys of evacuees as fires threatened to close roads.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrew declared a disaster across much of the eastern part of the state, allowing the government to order evacuations in an area with as many as 140,000 permanent residents and tens of thousands more tourists.
Photos: EPA-EFE/ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY/LSIS SHANE CAMERON/COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
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