A map has shown a huge "rain bomb" falling on Australia.

This is welcome news for the country which been ravaged devastating bushfires. A state of emergency was declared earlier this month, and it has been estimated that upwards of a billion animals have lost their lives, as per the Guardian.

The Australian state declares a bushfire emergency: 

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Relief came from the east of the country, which is currently experiencing thunderstorms and a huge "rain bomb". There have also been high winds that have damaged homes, the Victoria Bureau of Meteorology revealed on Twitter.

The MailOnline reports that on Wednesday, Melbourne was hit by storms that soon moved into Sydney, with the suburb of St Albans receiving a month's worth of rain in half an hour.

Chris Hemsworth made a pledge to the Australian fire services:

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And there is reportedly even more rain to come. A second weather system has been forecast to hit Victoria, South Australia, and western New South Wales on Monday. While this will bring welcome relief to those affected by the bushfires, it could create supercell storms.

Weatherzone released the following map which demonstrates the extent of the rainfall.

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Sky News Weather chief meteorologist, Tom Saunders, said: "By Monday, a cut-off low-pressure system will bring widespread heavy rain. We could see widespread severe weather with damaging wind gusts, further flash flooding and we could even see supercell storms. So there's going to be some big rain."

This woman risked her life to rescue a burnt kola from a bushfire:

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As per the University of Illinois, a supercell storm is "a thunderstorm with a deep rotating updraft (mesocyclone)" and is "the most dangerous because of the extreme weather generated."

Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said of the surging pattern: "While this type of weather pattern is not unusual for this time of year, it's the first widespread rain and storm event we've seen in eastern Australia so far this season. Showers and storms will start to increase over Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria from Wednesday and continue to effect parts of eastern Australia each day, until at least early each next week."

Pictured below is a helicopter dropping water on the bushfires on Kangaroo Island.

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Between 30 and 80mm of rain is estimated to fall over New South Wales during the next four days, the Bureau of Meteorology estimates, ABC reports.

Inspector Ben Shepherd of the NSW Rural Fire Service said: "It's the most positive forecast the RFS has had in months and will give crews a chance to regroup and work on containment lines."

How you can donate:

The NSW Rural Fire Service has multiple options for direct donations. You can donate to the RFS as a whole, or to specific brigades. You can donate through bank transfer, credit card or cheque.

For bank transfers, there is a set bank account (Account Name: NSW Rural Fire Service, BSB: 032-001, Account No: 171051). This account is for the RFS as a whole.

 This link will take you to the landing page for credit card donations. You can donate to the RFS general fund or choose specific brigades from the dropdown box.

In Queensland, Fire and Rescue advise that you can donate both money and items through the website givit.org.au. The website allows fire-affected communities to list what they specifically need, from water tanks in Yeppoon to school uniforms in Zillmere.

In Victoria, the Country Fire Authority has two bank accounts - one for specific brigades and one for the general fund.

In South Australia, the Country Fire Service accepts donations through the CFS Foundation. You can donate to them here. You can also leave a bequest.

If you cannot find the particular brigade you are looking for, you can contact them directly.

A brave Australian border collie saved a flock of sheep from a raging bushfire, which was destroying farmland in the area, Metro reports. The heroic pooch, named Patsy, helped a farmer round up the sheep as the fire continued to blaze in the rural town of Corryong in Victoria.

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She then brought them to safety in the farm's paddock while her owner tried to bring the fire under control using a tractor and a tank of water.

This heartwrenching footage shows a kind-hearted grandma rescuing a severely injured koala who was unable to escape the raging fires:

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As a result of their decisive actions, the majority of the sheep survived, along with the hay bales, silage, shearing shed, and farmhouses.

The owner's sister, Cath Hill, has since posted pictures of her brother's "wonder dog" sitting on the destroyed farmland with the sheep it helped rescue.

This is how the farmland looks after the rescue:

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According to Cath, her brother is continuing to put out fires in Corryong, which she says will go on for weeks.

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"It’s like Armageddon," She told Metro. "Everyone is just trying to get water and feed to their animals, shoot the ones that can’t be saved, get temporary fences up to keep stock secure, and put out all the logs and stumps still burning. And there’s people who have nothing left but the clothes on their backs."

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According to Cath, there were a couple of days when the weather cooled down which helped control the fires to an extent, however, she still fears the worst.

"They are expected to get worse around Thursday this week when hot windy weather returns," she said.

This is why the state of South Wales had little choice but to declare a week-long state of emergency:

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A GoFundMe has been set up to help the residents of Corryong following the devastating fire.

If you would like to donate to fire departments as they tackle the ongoing crisis, please find the information below...

How you can donate:

The NSW Rural Fire Service has multiple options for direct donations. You can donate to the RFS as a whole, or to specific brigades. You can donate through bank transfer, credit card or cheque.

For bank transfers, there is a set bank account (Account Name: NSW Rural Fire Service, BSB: 032-001, Account No: 171051). This account is for the RFS as a whole.

 This link will take you to the landing page for credit card donations. You can donate to the RFS general fund or choose specific brigades from the dropdown box.

In Queensland, Fire and Rescue advise that you can donate both money and items through the website givit.org.au. The website allows fire-affected communities to list what they specifically need, from water tanks in Yeppoon to school uniforms in Zillmere.

In Victoria, the Country Fire Authority has two bank accounts - one for specific brigades and one for the general fund.

In South Australia, the Country Fire Service accepts donations through the CFS Foundation. You can donate to them here. You can also leave a bequest.

If you cannot find the particular brigade you are looking for, you can contact them directly.

Bushfire season is upon Australia and so far, it has already claimed the lives of several people and destroyed hundreds of homes. People are now grouping together in a bid to reduce the devastation, with one woman risking her life to save a koala.

The woman, who identified herself as Toni, can be seen in the remarkable footage taking off her shirt so that she can rescue a badly burnt koala from a tree.

To see the dramatic rescue for yourself, check out the video below: 

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The animal was subsequently doused with water and taken to a sanctuary for treatment. According to CNN, while treated, the koala remains in a "very serious condition".

As a result of the weather, it is feared that upwards of 300 koalas may have been killed in 2019.

Now, in a bid to help the animals, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of their care. They have received around 31 koalas for treatment for dehydration and burns. 

Koalas are officially listed as "vulnerable" under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. There are so few left in the wild that the Australian Koala Foundation estimates there are around 43,000 left in Australia.

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Sydney has been shrouded by smoke, with BBC News reporting that pollution levels were eight times higher than normal. Locals were warned of the danger of fire on Tuesday, and it is expected that the situation will be exacerbated further when the heatwave reaches New South Wales and Queensland.

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According to CBS News weather contributor, Jeff Berardelli, rising temperatures dry out soil and vegetation which has the knock-on effect of making them more flammable.

"The trend is often towards greater moisture deficits in the atmosphere. Combined drier ground and relatively drier air leads to fires that grow faster and burn longer," he said.

Yesterday, we reported the devastating revelation that almost half a billion animals have perished in the devastating Australian wildfires.

However, amid the chaos of the situation, there have been glimmers of hope for the animal population Down Under, and now it has been revealed that the Irwin family has helped over 90,000 animals during the crisis.

This woman risked her life to save a koala from the wildfires: 

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The announcement was made by Bindi Irwin on Instagram today. Taking to the social media platform, the 21-year-old wrote: "With so many devastating fires within Australia, my heart breaks for the people and wildlife who have lost so much. I wanted to let you know that we are SAFE. There are no fires near us @AustraliaZoo or our conservation properties."

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"Our Wildlife Hospital is busier than ever though, having officially treated over 90,000 patients. My parents dedicated our Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to my beautiful grandmother. We will continue to honor her by being Wildlife Warriors and saving as many lives as we can. "

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This revelation comes just days after a cyclist took to Instagram to reveal that a koala flagged her down in a desperate bid to obtain water.

Koalas are one of the animals most at risk from the flames because they feed on highly-flammable eucalyptus leaves. Earlier this year, they were declared functionally extinct, as per the Conservationist.

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However, it is not just the animal population who have been devastated by the blaze. Highly toxic fumes have been spiraling into the air, and people in Sydney have been reported to be "choking" on the intense pollution this has caused, the BBC reports.

If you would like to help those affected by the wildfires, you can donate to the relief and recovery efforts being made by the Red Cross here, and you can assist the animal victims by donating to WIRES here.

A video has gone viral on social media this week, which shows an Australian farmer celebrating rain falling on his parched fields.

The video was posted to Facebook by New South Wales farmer Bryce Chapman; who was so excited by the downpour that he filmed a selfie video of himself outside, laughing and cheering over the inclement weather after a long drought.

At one point, a highly-excited Chapman even shouts to a herd of his own cows: "Here’s some rain to give you some feed!"

Take a look at the heartwarming video below:

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This video comes just a few days after the Bureau of Meteorology published a map showing the rain forecast for the state of NSW, which predicted heavy rainfall which could help combat the devastating wildfires that have plagued the region after one of the hottest summers on record.

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Commenting on the news, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service tweeted: "If this @BOM_NSW rainfall forecast comes to fruition then this will be all of our Christmas, birthday, engagement, anniversary, wedding and graduation presents rolled into one. Fingers crossed. #NSWRFS #nswfires [sic]"

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In a follow-up post made days later, the NSW RFS tweeted: "Rain has fallen across most firegrounds over the last 24 hours which is great news! Our fingers are crossed that this continues over the coming days. This morning 82 fires are still burning across New South Wales, with over 30 still yet to be contained. [sic]"

If you'd like to make a donation to the human and animal relief efforts, then please consider visiting one of the organizations listed below:

How you can donate:

The NSW Rural Fire Service has multiple options for direct donations. You can donate to the RFS as a whole, or to specific brigades. You can donate through bank transfer, credit card or cheque.

For bank transfers, there is a set bank account (Account Name: NSW Rural Fire Service, BSB: 032-001, Account No: 171051). This account is for the RFS as a whole.

 This link will take you to the landing page for credit card donations. You can donate to the RFS general fund or choose specific brigades from the dropdown box.

In Queensland, Fire and Rescue advise that you can donate both money and items through the website givit.org.au. The website allows fire-affected communities to list what they specifically need, from water tanks in Yeppoon to school uniforms in Zillmere.

In Victoria, the Country Fire Authority has two bank accounts - one for specific brigades and one for the general fund.

In South Australia, the Country Fire Service accepts donations through the CFS Foundation. You can donate to them here. You can also leave a bequest.

If you cannot find the particular brigade you are looking for, you can contact them directly.