No relief as south braces for more extreme heat
Updated January 02, 2012 19:14:22
The mercury is expected to rise again on Tuesday. Photo: The mercury is expected to rise again on Tuesday. (Vivek Chugh, file photo: www.sxc.hu)
Emergency services are being kept busy in Victoria and South Australia as temperatures remain high through the night, putting fire crews on high alert in parts of both states.
There have been about 100 small fires across Victoria today, as residents sweltered in temperatures as high as 43 degrees in some parts, including at Warrnambool and Port Fairy.
And in South Australia it is the second day temperatures have been in the low 40s. High winds have also sparked fire threats on the state's south coast.
Paramedics have treated more than 35 people who collapsed in the Melbourne heat today; 13 people were seriously affected.
Emergency services were also forced to rescue children locked in two hot vehicles on the Mornington Peninsula.
Weather bureau spokesman James Taylor says the temperature in Melbourne is likely to stay around the mid to late 30s until as late as midnight, but relief is on the way.
"We do have a south-westerly change forecast to move through later tonight," he said.
But the mercury is expected to rise to the mid to high 30s again tomorrow.
Bushfires spread
Meanwhile, firefighters are using a water-bombing helicopter to put out a blaze south of Rosedale in Gippsland in Victoria's east.
The bushfire is about five hectares in size and moving slowly. No homes are under threat.
This afternoon crews battled two grassfires just outside of Geelong which are no longer posing a threat.
CFA spokesman Steven Warrington says crews have managed to keep on top of the fires, but grass levels are high.
"These are fast-moving, high-impact fires and we need to get on them quite quickly," he said.
Electricity shut off
In South Australia, authorities shut down power after there were winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour in parts of the south coast.
The power was cut to reduce the risk of fires starting from overheating appliances.
Nearly 3,500 residents on the south coast had to put up with soaring temperatures without air conditioning for a couple of hours, but electricity has almost been fully restored.
ETSA cut power to properties in Middleton, Port Elliot, Victor Harbor and Hindmarsh Island.
ETSA spokesman Paul Roberts says the laws were introduced in response to the Ash Wednesday bushfires.
"It's our role through that legislation really to ensure the safety of the public and property on these sort of days," he said.
Some residents in the affected areas say they were given no warning.
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