Australia is in the midst of one of the worst bushfire crises the world has seen. Since September, entire communities have been engulfed by relentless heat and fires. The flames are showing no signs of slowing down - which means only one thing... death tolls are rising.
The country as a whole has been working tirelessly, but they desperately need help.
But hope may be on the horizon after a huge "rain bomb" has been set to hit the drought-ridden country.
Keep scrolling to find out more...
Australia is being ravished by one of the worst bush fire crises the world has seen in decades.
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Due to soaring temperatures and one of the worst droughts in years, the relentless fires have been burning since September. We're currently in January. Just let that sink in.New South Wales is suffering immensely at the moment.
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There have been fires reported in every state, but New South Wales is truly taking a beating by bush fires and is undoubtedly the hardest hit. More than 5,900 buildings have been destroyed.NSW declared a state of emergency last month.
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What does this mean? Well, it grants "extraordinary powers" to the NSWRFS commissioner, including the authority to allocate government resources and direct government agencies in taking action, according to CNN.Twenty-nine people have been confirmed to have died in the fires since they started...
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Including several volunteer firefighters.The fires have also had a devasting impact on wildlife.
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Several of Australia's native species have been affected including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, possums, wombats, and echidnas.Over one billion animals have died.
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CBS News reports that it's thought now over one billion mammals, birds, and reptiles have died since September.The Australian fire services have also been struggling...
Firefighters all over the country have been tirelessly battling the formidable blazes and are struggling to contain them, and the fire services are truly stretched to their limits.
Australia has ultimately been forced to make a global call for help...
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And it was Canada that was the first to respond and take action. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, based in Winnipeg, answered the call for help after realizing the bush fire situation is expected to continue for many more weeks and they even gave up their Christmases to help fight the raging fires.Other countries offered their assistance...
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Including the U.S. and New Zealand, who have sent in more firefighters to try and help tackles the blazes.Volunteers have been stepping forward all around the country...
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Ordinary people with regular professions have been volunteering to help tackle the flames and they have been working for free.How long could the fires actually be burning for?
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Sadly, Australia has only just entered summer, meaning temperatures could remain high for some weeks. In fact, temperatures usually reach their highest during January and February, so there may be no end in sight for months.The assistance from global fire services has been very much appreciated...
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And the volunteers have shown incredible bravery to leave behind their homes and tackle the fires head-on.But despite the high volume of firefighters currently tackling the blazes...
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Human effort is simply not enough to extinguish the raging fires.The country is in desperate need of rain...
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But the drought seems to be never-ending at this point.Mother Nature works in mysterious ways, however...
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And a recent weather forecast for Australia has given the entire country hope.The New South Wales Rural Fire Service tweeted this weather map...
If this @BOM_NSW rainfall forecast comes to fruition then this will be all of our Christmas, birthday, engagement,… https://t.co/7RbzDzKufq— NSW RFS (@NSW RFS)1578871523.0
It is hoped that the rain will begin to fall any time today...
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The heavier downpours are due on Thursday when thunderstorms and showers are forecast for most of NSW and up to twenty-five-millimeters is expected to fall on parts of the south coast.The expected rain will be a true blessing to the country...
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Sydney is expected to receive its most significant downpour in several months, with forecasts of 2-8 millimeters on Thursday and 5-10 millimeters on Friday.But with every weather forecast comes a weather warning...
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It has been warned that the predicted heavy down-pours could cause landslides, which could result in an equal amount of devastation.The weather predictions have been studied heavily...
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BOM meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse said to the Daily Mail, "We are looking at a couple of days in a row of some showers and thunderstorms, some of which may produce significant accumulation over those couple of days."Australia is incredibly vulnerable at the moment...
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"It will be quite welcome but there are some extra dangers and risks associated with it as the landscape is quite vulnerable with the fire damage... We've lost a lot of vegetations and there is the risk of landslips," she went on to say.
Stay tuned for further updates.