dailynewsnblog
Key events
Hume Highway closed and regional trains cancelled amid Victorian bushfires
Victoria’s Hume Highway was closed last night and regional trains were cancelled as firefighters from at least two states fought bushfires in the worst heatwave to descend on Australia since 2019-20.
As Melbourne prepared for a forecast of 41C today the acting premier, Ben Carroll, described Victoria as “one of the most bushfire-prone areas in the world”.
“There is also the real risk of heat-related illness throughout the state tomorrow.”
The state health department urged Victorians “to be prepared – stay hydrated, stay indoors as much as possible and make sure you check-in on loved ones”.
Read more here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will pick up the news thread.
Firefighters are preparing for catastrophic conditions across many parts of Victoria today after a week of scorching temperatures. The entire state is under a total fire ban and parks and camping grounds are closed. There are also extreme fire danger ratings for much of South Australia and the New South Wales Riverina. We have more coming up.
At the other end of the continent, the BoM estimates about a 50/50 chance of a tropical cyclone crossing the coast in Queensland this weekend. More on that too, soon.
