"Conditions will continue to get worse": millions of Australians brace for bushfires

Residents across a wide swath of Australia's east coast were bracing for increased fire conditions on Tuesday, with searing heat and high winds. Millions of people across two states are subject to a seven-day state of emergency that was imposed by officials on Monday. Officials have rated the harbor city at "catastrophic fire danger" for Tuesday. That is the first time it has received that designation since new fire danger ratings were introduced in 2009. Sydney is surrounded by large areas of bushland, much of which remains tinder dry following little rain across the country's east coast in recent months.