Australia: Hotter than hell, Fires and Floods and Arson

Australia: The perfect wildfire storm - Weather conditions in Australia are perfect for wild land inferno today

• Fourteen people confirmed killed and fears for up to 40 souls lost.
  
• 100 homes destroyed in the nation's southeast.
• 116.6 Fahrenheit was yesterdays high temperature.
• Wind driven wildfires were driven by hot winds exceeding 65 mph
  
• At least Forty wild fires burning in South Australia.
  
• Rainfall rates in some Northern areas exceed 3 inches an hour.

"The fire danger forecast for Saturday may be as extreme as we've seen in South Australia for a number of years," said fire service spokesman Euan Ferguson.

Most of the fires burning early Saturday were contained within firebreaks by thousands of volunteer firefighters manning hoses and building firebreaks at the edges. Tens of thousands more were standing by, along with water-bombing planes and helicopters, said New South Wales Rural Fire Service chief Shane Fitzsimmons.

At least 40 fires were blazing in New South Wales state, and more burned in Victoria and South Australia early today.

Most were in parks and bush land away from residential areas.

Fourteen people are confirmed dead but as many as 40 are feared to have died as bushfires swept across Victoria yesterday and continued to burn through the night.

Australia Wildfire / Brush fire map

"Homes are still under threat,'' "The homes are under ember attack and residents in that area are asked to take direction from firefighters and to be aware of any embers that land on their property from the fire.''

Arson: Conditions perfect for arson caused inferno

Adding to the wild fire fear is the knowledge that many of Australia's wildfires are lit by arsonists.Police are hunting fire starters believed to have sparked last week's fire that destroyed nearly 30 homes in Victoria state.
The government's Australian Institute of Criminology released a report on Sunday which said half of the nation's 20 000 to 30 000 bushfires each year are deliberately lit.
Some 60,000 fires in forests and other vegetation occur each year, and about half are deliberately lit or suspicious, government research says.
Other causes include lightning strikes and human activity such as use of machinery near dry bush.

Flooding: Rainfall rates in some northeastern Australia areas exceed 3 inches an hour

Meanwhile, residents of a vast patch of the Outback in northeastern Australia that is underwater after weeks of heavy rain continued mop-up operations or simply stayed inside waiting for the floodwaters to subside.

Several small towns near Ingham in Queensland state, where rain was measured as falling at a rate of 100 millimeters a single hour on Friday, were cut off by flooded roads on Saturday.

Scores of people have been moved from inundated homes to emergency shelters. There have been no reported injuries.