Emergency services in two states were severely stretched as they responded to natural disasters: bushfires in West Australia and floods in New South Wales.
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An out-of-control blaze in West Australia has consumed more than 11,000 hectares south of Perth, destroying properties, farms and vineyards.
Authorities warned the fire is unpredictable, and lives and homes were under threat both from the main fire and from spot fires caused by burning embers.
Department of Parks and Wildlife senior planning officer Colin Ingram confirmed the loss of the sheds, fences and bridge and the damage to powerlines – 1600 homes were without power.
Strong easterly winds had driven the fire rapidly overnight, and continued to propel the fire westward fast, at a rate of about 1 to 1.5km/h.
"The conditions are not great," he said.
Around 100 firefighters spent Wednesday night defending the small town of Waroona from spot fires as residents reported explosions from the outskirts of town.
"There were explosions late last night which we assume were gas bottles," said Waroona Hotel owner Dave Burt. "You know people's properties are being directly affected when you hear gas bottles going off – it's either buildings or machinery. You do get concerned and you hope people got out and made the right decisions."
In Deua National Park in NSW, 41 campers have been trapped by rising floodwaters, including an eight-month-old baby.
Food, water and medicine was dropped off by helicopter on Thursday to the stranded holidaymakers in various campsites across the Bendethera Valley in the state's south-east.
The NSW SES was also in attendance on Thursday morning, attempting to cross the flooded Deua River, joined by the NSW Police Rescue Squad, NSW Ambulance special operations and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Members of the SES have been stationed at the campsites until the campers can be evacuated, which is expected to happen over the following days.
A group of six campers are on the western side of the valley, said SES Illawarra-South Coast incident controller Ashley Sullivan, and "can possibly get out if required and are happy to remain in place for now".
"We have made contact with family members where we had details to do so. At this stage everyone is OK," he said.
The campers have been stranded at various locations in the national park since Tuesday, after heavy rain on the south coast flooded nearby rivers, including the Deua River.
