SYDNEY: Almost 7 million Australians are living in areas on the outskirts of major cities that are most exposed to deadly wildfires, a report has found.
The report, which was published on Tuesday by NGOs the Climate Council and Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (ELCA), warned that Australia is increasingly at risk of an urban fire event similar to the January 2025 Los Angeles (LA) wildfires.
It found that the urban fringe on the outskirts of the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra shares characteristics that made the LA fires so destructive.
According to the report, the number of Australians living in the outer suburbs of major cities has increased by 65.5 per cent since 2001 to over 6.9 million and up to 90 per cent of Australian homes in high-risk fire zones were built before modern bushfire-resilient standards were introduced, Xinhua news agency reported.