Authorities in Australia are assessing damage from massive bush fires as some rain is set to provide a temporary ease from the blazes.
Cooler conditions and light rain could give a slight respite, but isn’t anywhere near enough two put out around 200 fires that are still rapidly burning.
And there are growing fears for the future of koalas in the years to come, with a huge amount of “disease-free koalas” being killed in the crisis.
Shane Fitzsimmons, New South Wales state Rural Fire Service Commissioner said: “It certainly is a welcome reprieve, it is psychological relief if nothing else.
“But unfortunately it is not putting out the fires.”
Tens of thousands of homes were without power as military and police continued to provide support and supplies, while evacuating thousands of people who had been trapped by the flames.
But temperatures are expected to rise again this week, according to fire officials.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that the State is in “uncharted territory.”
“The weather activity we’re seeing, the extent and spread of the fires, the speed at which they’re going, the way in which they are attacking communities who have never ever seen fire before is unprecedented,” she said.
“We’re in uncharted territory. We can’t pretend that this is something that we have experienced before. It’s not.”
So far, 24 people have lost their lives in the crisis, which has scorched an area around half the size of Ireland.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced the creation of a “Bushfire Recovery Agency,” which will run for two years to help survivors get back on their feet.
Meanwhile, half of the country’s only “disease-free” koala population is feared dead, with many more seriously injured.
Kangaroo Island, which is home to many native animals, has suffered badly with the rapidly spreading wildfires, with at least a third of the island (170,000 hectares) being affected.
According to a study by the University of Adelaide, the estimated 50,000 koala’s living on the island are thought to be extremely important for the future survival of the population, being the only group without chlamydia.
The infection, which is widespread in koalas in Queensland and New South Wales, causes blindness, infertility and death in the animal.
