Australian wildfires prompt urgent state of emergency, military evacuation

Fireman in Australia fights raging bushfire
(Image credit: Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) declared a weeklong state of emergency on Thursday as raging wildfires forced evacuations all along Australia's eastern coast, including a military-led naval rescue thousands of tourists and residents who fled to the beach in Mallacoota, Victoria. The fires have destroyed at least 281 homes in NSW and 68 in Victoria this week alone, authorities said, and at least eight people have died and 17 are missing in the two states. Since September, the brushfires have killed 18 people and destroyed more than 1,200 homes.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.