State of emergency declared as Australia braces for "catastrophic" bushfires

Firefighters battle the flames during bushfires near Taree, New South Wales, Australia, Nov. 11, 2019. A devastating start to the Australian bushfire season has prompted a state of emergency in the eastern state of New South Wales (NSW), with the country's largest city, Sydney bracing for "catastrophic" fire danger. On Monday, a state of emergency was declared for NSW, with exceptionally hot and windy conditions predicted for Tuesday, threatening to create an even bigger fire disaster than that which left three people dead last week. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)