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Australia: Bushfires around Perth destroyed 40 properties

Dunya News

Fire authorities in Western Australia said on Monday that bushfires around Perth had destroyed more than 40 properties and at least one firefighter had been injured battling the blazes.

Several Perth suburbs remained under threat and hundreds of firefighters tried to contain fires burning out of control. Helicopters dumped water on some of the blazes.Wind gusts up to 70-kilometres per hour fanned the flames, hampering the efforts of the fire crews.No serious injuries or deaths have been reported and hundreds of locals spent the night in emergency shelters.Residents said the flames had travelled so fast they had had to evacuate their homes with little notice.All of a sudden, the police just came along and said, please move along now, the fire has jumped with the wind, and everyone had to leave, one woman told local media.Some remained behind to defend their properties.Keep it nice and wet, hopefully the fire doesnt get over here, said one man while hosing down his roof.Local media reported that arson squads were called in to investigate the cause of the fire