Off-road terrain fires are raging in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales. Shortly after 5 pm local time on Tuesday, alarms came that a fire was also raging in a suburb of Sydney, near the settlement. Several of the fire warnings that have gone out in the areas are at the highest level - classified as catastrophic - which means that people's lives are in danger. Many are now being asked to leave their homes.

Several fires out of control

In the afternoon, 86 fires were estimated to burn in New South Wales, of which 46 were still out of control. In Queensland, 65 fires burned in the late afternoon.

At the same time, the authorities warn that the situation may be even worse and fear that they are facing “the worst week of terrain fires that the nation has ever seen. “The summer season is not yet fully operational, and temperatures will rise.

Unclear where the fires are spreading

The emergency services chief Shane Fitzsimmons tells Australian media that the situation is so extreme that "if a fire starts and gets stuck, we won't be able to stop it."

"All energy is currently being directed at getting people to leave the dangerous areas," said Emma Gyllenstad, TT reporter on site in Sydney to SVT's Morning Studio.

In the afternoon, strong winds are expected to sweep across the country, which could cause fires to change direction - which could make the situation even more dangerous.

- You can't really see where the fires will go, says Emma Gyllenstad.

Schools are kept closed

Three people have been killed and over 150 buildings have been destroyed in the fires' progress. Over 500 schools in New South Wales have been closed as a precautionary measure on Tuesday, and are believed to remain so on Wednesday.