Canberra, Jan 16 - Australia is currently facing large-scale wildfires in the southern state of Victoria, where authorities report more than 400,000 hectares burned, at least one person deceased, and hundreds of homes destroyed.
The government has declared a state of disaster while several fire outbreaks remain active due to an extreme heatwave.
Strong winds are fueling the catastrophic fire conditions, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which on Friday presented hundreds of images captured by a weather satellite in orbit, combined by its experts to show the scale and destructive force in Victoria.
Mapping the data reveals more than 100 separate burned areas from January 5 to date.
In southern Australia, the number of destroyed buildings exceeds 700, homes damaged or severely affected surpass 300, and hundreds of residents have had to abandon their houses.
The current heatwave, unprecedented since 2020, is causing temperatures close to 45 degrees Celsius, posing a serious risk to human health and the environment.
Experts agree that the still out-of-control situation recalls the devastating "Black Summer" of 2020, which left 33 dead and around three thousand homes destroyed, as well as the tragic 2009 event, when the flames claimed 173 lives in Victoria.
Australia’s fire season usually focuses between December and March, but this year the intensity has put the country on maximum alert.
