Firefighters battle blazes as storms hit Australia’s southeast

Powerful winds have killed a man and brought widespread destruction, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses lost power and injured five firefighters in Australia’s second-most populous state of Victoria, officials said on Wednesday.

Temperatures had exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in parts of Victoria on Tuesday and closer to 20 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Emergency crews were working to clear roads and train lines across the state of fallen trees and power lines. Also schools remained closed in the hardest hit parts of the state for a second day on Wednesday.