A man was found dead in a submerged car after floods hit southeast Australia on Thursday, authorities said.

Sydney was enveloped in a thick bank of hazardous bushfire smoke Monday, forcing authorities in Australia's largest city to scale back controlled forest burning nearby.

Military helicopters, jet skis and rubber boats were deployed to rescue people stranded by "catastrophic" floods along Australia's populous east coast Tuesday, with thousands of homes damaged.

Record rains and widespread flooding prompted evacuations along Australia's east coast Saturday and filled Sydney's main reservoir to overflowing for the first time in 30 years, officials said.

In a surprise retaliatory move Thursday, Facebook blocked Australians from sharing news stories, escalating a fight with the government over whether powerful tech companies should have to pay news organizations for content.

Australia's government condemned the step, which also blocked some government communications, including messages about emergency services, and some commercial pages.

Australian firefighters have managed to contain a bushfire burning near Perth, authorities said Saturday, allowing them to downgrade the blaze which has destroyed 86 homes.

At least 71 homes have been destroyed in a bushfire raging out of control near Australia's fourth-biggest city Perth, authorities said Wednesday, as they told residents to ignore a virus lockdown and evacuate threatened areas.

New Zealand's borders are likely to remain closed for much of the year as health officials assess global vaccine rollouts, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned Tuesday.

Australia's medical regulator has formally approved the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, with the first doses expected to be administered in late February, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Monday.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted provisional approval for the Pfizer product, making it the first Covid-19 vaccine to get the green light in Australia.

Australian firefighters said they expect to battle an out-of-control bushfire well into the night on Saturday, as the blaze threatens lives and homes in the west coast city of Perth.