HMAS Choules, one of the Australian Navy’s amphibious ships, is on it’s way to Mallacoota’s coast to rescue those stranded by the deadly bushfire that claimed one life and destroyed homes.
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According to the ABC, supplies did arrive by boat on Wednesday afternoon, carrying 1.6 tonnes of much needed water, diesel to work the generators in town, and other emergency supplies as those stranded on the foreshore waited for evacuation.
Mallacoota this morning, down at the boat ramps and main wharf. A mix of smoke and fog perhaps, but definitely smoke! #MallacootaFires #BushfireEmergency pic.twitter.com/WcRHQFgCPk
— Jonty Smith – 📎-ist (@TheOnlyJonty) January 1, 2020
HMAS Choules, however, can only accommodate 1,000 people – 1/4 of the amount currently in need of evacuation. Roads to the area are currently blocked by fallen trees and debris, that will allegedly take days to clear. Some are hiring private charters to escape.
People are desperate to leave Mallacoota. This group has hired a private charter. They say help hasn’t come fast enough. HMAS Choules is now off shore. @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/eoB92lRUYo
— Mimi Becker (@MimiRoseBecker) January 1, 2020
Conditions, according to the Country Fire Authority, are “too hot and too dangerous” for rescuers to reach many of the communities currently stranded after bushfires surrounded coastal towns.
More worryingly, many smaller communities are, according to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews who spoke to ABC Gippsland this morning, “basically isolated from the sort of support that they need”.
He specified Cann River as one of these small towns, saying it’s been “very challenging to get air access there”.
There are currently 10 Watch and Act warnings across Victoria, for updates please visit the CFA site here for the most up to date information.
