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Australia: Volunteer firefighter killed by 'freakish' wind Australia fires: Holidaymakers flee to water as blaze hits town
(about 2 hours later)
Thousands of people have fled into the water at a beachside town in Australia to seek shelter from a massive bushfire bearing down on the area.
Residents said the blaze moved into the Victorian town of Mallacoota on Tuesday morning, throwing embers towards homes.
Online, people posted pictures of a deep-red sky and reported "complete darkness" and choking smoke.
Several popular holiday spots along the coast between Sydney and Melbourne are currently under threat from bushfires.
The most serious "emergency-level" blazes span a 500km (310 miles) stretch from Batemans Bay in New South Wales to Bairnsdale in Victoria.
Residents in other beachside communities, including Bermagui in New South Wales, were also reported to have sought shelter in the water, local media reported.
Authorities have told people in these regions - many of them tourists - to stay put because it is too late and dangerous to evacuate.
The major highway in the region has also been closed off.
Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said authorities held concerns for four people missing in the region.
"We do have real fears for their safety. They've been in active fire environments and we can't account for them," he told reporters on Tuesday.
What is happening in Mallacoota?
"Mallacoota is currently under attack at the moment," said Victoria's state emergency commissioner Andrew Crisp on Tuesday. He reported there were "4,000 people on the beach".
"It is pitch-black, it is quite scary... the community right now is under threat but we will hold our line and they will be saved and protected."
On social media, locals reported they had boarded small boats in the water, or had huddled in their fortified homes as the fire swept through the town.
Crews are fighting to protect lives rather than buildings, locals said. Several homes in the town are already believed to have been destroyed.
Mr Crisp said there had been "significant property losses" across the entire East Gippsland region in the past days.
Searing mid-40Cs heat combined with strong winds and lightning had triggered more than 200 new fires across the state in the past 24 hours.
They have fuelled the rapid expansion of existing fronts, with several blazes so large they are generating their own thunderstorms and lightning.
It is another escalation in the nation's bushfire crisis which has seen hundreds of massive blazes destroy millions of hectares in the eastern states since September.
At least 10 people have died, among them civilians and three volunteer firefighters.
Firefighter death
It was a "freakish weather event" that killed a volunteer firefighter on Sunday, according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS).It was a "freakish weather event" that killed a volunteer firefighter on Sunday, according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS).
Powerful winds near the New South Wales-Victoria border lifted his 10-tonne truck off the ground and flipped it over, the service said.Powerful winds near the New South Wales-Victoria border lifted his 10-tonne truck off the ground and flipped it over, the service said.
Samuel McPaul, 28, was a newlywed who was expecting his first child.Samuel McPaul, 28, was a newlywed who was expecting his first child.
In total, 10 people have died in the nation's bushfire crisis since September.
Earlier in December, two volunteer firefighters died while battling a blaze near Sydney.Earlier in December, two volunteer firefighters died while battling a blaze near Sydney.
"To lose one of our own in such extraordinary circumstances is just tragic," said RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons of the latest death."To lose one of our own in such extraordinary circumstances is just tragic," said RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons of the latest death.
Mr McPaul died at the scene, while the driver received minor burns and a third person suffered more serious burns.Mr McPaul died at the scene, while the driver received minor burns and a third person suffered more serious burns.
A second vehicle was also blown over in the same area and the firefighters on board were taken to hospital, the service said.A second vehicle was also blown over in the same area and the firefighters on board were taken to hospital, the service said.
Meteorologists say a climate system in the Indian Ocean, known as the dipole, is the main driver behind the extreme heat in Australia.Meteorologists say a climate system in the Indian Ocean, known as the dipole, is the main driver behind the extreme heat in Australia.
Temperatures exceeded 40C (104F) in every state at the start of the week, with strong winds and lightning strikes bolstering the flames.Temperatures exceeded 40C (104F) in every state at the start of the week, with strong winds and lightning strikes bolstering the flames.
On Tuesday morning, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said extraordinary fire behaviour overnight meant there was "every chance" more fires will flare up, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I understand the bureau are looking to updating the forecast to be slightly worse than they thought was the case yesterday afternoon," he said.
Meanwhile, the state of Victoria has seen mass evacuations.
Residents in three Melbourne suburbs - Bundoora, Greensborough and Mill Park - have been warned of a fast-moving fire.
A spokesman for Emergency Management Victoria, Luke Hegarty, told the BBC those that remain in East Gippsland have now been told it is too late to leave. The main road out of the area has been closed and firefighters withdrawn.
"Unfortunately it appears that our concerns have been realised this afternoon. These fires have continued to grow and now for a very large part of East Gippsland our advice to people is that it is too late to leave - they need to be sheltering inside their homes," he said.
He added that the fires are continuing to spread. "The fires are also starting new fires ahead of them which we call spot fires, so bits of bark, leaves and the like, that blow ahead of the main fire front and start new fires," he said.
What about the other states?
In South Australia, crews have battled other "catastrophic" fire conditions in a wine region north-east of Adelaide.
The island state of Tasmania also struggled to contain bushfires amid a sweltering heatwave.
Hobart, the state's capital, experienced its hottest December day on record on Monday, when temperatures hit 40.8C.
Have you been told to evacuate? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Have you been told to evacuate? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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