Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner Rick Curtis said crews were surveying damage in the "very large area" hit by Ilsa.

SYDNEY — Large swaths of Australia on Sunday sweated through heat wave conditions as authorities warned of a high bushfire risk in many parts of the country's vast Western Australia state.

A huge, 5000km rainband will saturate parts of the east and west coast, with Geraldton in Western Australia set to be soaked and Queenslanders in Brisbane bound to open their brollies.