After covering the Muslims prayers for rain in Austuralia, Rain has fallen in fire-ravaged parts of Australia and temperatures have dropped as Sooty rain fell down the east coast, from Sydney to Melbourne, with “torrential” rain reported in some parts of New South Wales (NSW).
The rain could not have come soon enough for the volunteers and professional crews who are working around-the-clock to make gains on fires threatening homes and lives across eastern and southern Australia.
All fires in NSW have been downgraded to advice level.
Parts of the fire are burning in inaccessible country and heading in a north-westerly direction towards Bombala.
The Rural Fire Service said at least 60 properties were lost across the state this weekend, but expected that number to rise.
The easing of conditions meant valuable supplies could be taken to affected areas.
The Australian Army said it sent supplies, personnel, and vehicles to Kangaroo Island off the coast of Adelaide. The island has been devastated by the bushfires, with two people killed last week.
The army also sent out reconnaissance and assistance missions in NSW and Victoria.
The Southern Highlands appear to have been the worst hit with at least 10 properties damaged in the villages of Kangaroo Valley and Wingello, while a 47-year-old man was killed in the Dunns Road fire near Batlow.
The weekend saw some of the worst days of the crisis so far, with hundreds more properties destroyed. Rural towns and major cities saw red skies, falling ash and smoke that clogged the air.
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But by Monday, there were no emergency warnings in fire-ravaged states, following the weather change.
Victoria state had 25 “watch and act” alerts and South Australia had one “watch and act” alert.
However, Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp warned “it will warm up” and the fires “will take off again”.
On Monday morning, there were only around 10km between a blaze in Victoria’s Corryong and two burning at Kosciuszko National Park in NSW.
“This will be a changing, dynamic situation,” he said, warning it was “inevitable” the fires would join across the border.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said more than A$100,000 (£53,000, $69,000) would be released for disaster relief – while A$2bn would be committed to recovery over the next two years.
ustralia is fighting one of its worst bushfire seasons, fuelled by record-breaking temperatures and months of drought.
The country has always experienced bushfires but this year they are a lot worse than normal.
At least 24 people have died since the fires began in September. Air quality in the capital Canberra was recently rated the worst in the world.
