Australia's unprecedented wildfire crisis is set to end in the next few days due to heavy rains that could put out dozens of fires in the south of the country, authorities said on Monday.
Several consecutive days of heavy rain have already caused flash floods in the states of New South Wales and Queensland, particularly in areas that have been ravaged by fire in recent weeks. Sydney has been particularly watered in recent days by the heaviest rainfall in 30 years.
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The Bureau of Meteorology has announced that 391.6 millimeters fell in four days on the largest city in the country, the largest amount in such a period since the 414.2 millimeters which had been recorded in February 1990. This Deluge helped put out several fires, including one that ravaged 500,000 ha (5,000 km2) north of the city.
James Morris, spokesman for firefighters in rural New South Wales, said about 30 fires were still active on Monday, but said they would soon be put out by rain. "It is likely that they will be extinguished by the end of the week, " he assured AFP .
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The fires occur every year in Australia at the end of the austral winter. But this year has been particularly early and intense, generating a national disaster that has left at least 33 people dead since September.
The crisis has also fueled criticism of the conservative government of Scott Morrison, who is accused of dragging his feet in the fight against global warming so as not to sacrifice the lucrative coal industry, which also employs many Australians.
Since September, an area of more than 100,000 km2, larger than Portugal, has been reduced to ashes and more than 2,000 homes destroyed. Researchers estimate that more than a billion animals have been killed.
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