CANBERRA, Australia—Torrential rain lashing Australia’s east coast on Sunday has extinguished a major wildfire and caused widespread flash flooding. Rain put out the Currowan fire south of Sydney late Saturday after it destroyed 312 homes and razed 5,000 square kilometres over 74 days, the New South Wales state Rural Fire Service said. Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said he hoped the heavy rain would move inland from the coast and drench more major fires that have burned for months. The State Emergency Service reported six flood rescues overnight near Grafton, north of Sydney. Australian wildfires have killed at least 33 and destroyed more than 3,000 homes in an unprecedented fire season that began late in a record-dry 2019.

Source: thestar February 09, 2020 03:11 UTC