Sleeping in sports halls, no petrol anywhere and supermarkets stripped of food by panic buyers: The ‘third world’ conditions faced by bushfire victims who say they’re living like refugees
- Holidaymakers have been waiting overnight for fuel to flee NSW south coast
- Supermarkets are overrun with lines, limits on purchases and early closing times
- One resident has described ‘ feeling like a refugee in his own country’
Parts of Australia are enduring third-world conditions as resources run dry and thousands flee or bunker down in preparation for Saturday’s catastrophic conditions.
Evacuation orders have been issued for large parts of south-east New South Wales and north east Victoria, in what has become the largest ever emergency movement of people the country has ever faced.
But as residents and holiday-makers choose ‘fight or flight’ resources are dwindling.
Supermarket shelves lay bare, and queues grow to get petrol or leave via the two roads out.
Pictured: Hundreds camp out at the evaucation centre at Narooma on the New South Wales far south coast amid the bushfire crisis facing the region
A 250 kilometre evacuation zone from Batemans Bay to the Victorian border caused commuter chaos along the only two escape routes out of the line of fire.
Another evacuation zone in the Snowy Mountains covering the towns of Jindabyne, Adaminaby and Berridale revealed a similar story.
Some visitors reporting sitting in gridlock for 10 hours, with queues stretching for 25km along both the Princes Highway north of Ulladulla and 30 kilometres on the Monaro highway north of Cooma to Canberra.
Holidaymakers reported queuing for four hours at the petrol station in Bermagui while others carried jerry-cans across the Batemans Bay bridge to fill up by hand and avoid the traffic, according to 7news.
An emotional Bega Valley Mayor Kristy McBain has been handling the community response across large parts of the region.
The community has now become used to the phrase ‘our resources are stretched’ as they brace for what’s to come this Saturday.
Pictured: Holidaymakers reported queuing for hours at petrol station on the far south coast
Pictured: supermarkets across the south east have been overrun by panicked people, causing lines around the block, limits on purchases and early closing times
Councillor McBain told a packed-out evacuation centre in Bermagui they would not be safe if they stayed in town for the weekend.
‘We cannot guarantee your safety,’ the visibly emotional leader said.
As one resident left the meeting he described ‘feeling like a refugee in his own country’ on 7news.
Meanwhile supermarkets across the south east have been overrun by panicked people, causing lines around the block, limits on purchases and early closing times.
The supermarket at Milton was restricting customers to six items at a time as holiday-makers fled via the Princes Highway on Wednesday.
While the supermarket at Bermagui closed at midday on Thursday after running out of groceries.
Pictured: A 250 kilometre evacuation zone from Batemans Bay to the Victorian border caused commuter chaos along the only two escape routes out of the line of fire
For those who have chosen to remain in the few towns deemed safe it will be a long tough weekend ahead.
Officials have warned residents they will be unable to control the fires amid a seven day state of emergency across New South Wales.
‘We have no capacity to contain these fires … the fires are going to do what they are going to do, and people have to get out of that area,’ NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said.