The weather forecast has predicted heavy downpours in New South Wales and Victoria, which will come as a relief to beleaguered Australian firefighters. The rain has been forecast for parts of the central and northern coasts for today, with thunderstorms and showers taking place over most of NSW on Thursday. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/NSWRFS/status/1216501456108343296]] A total of 25mm is expected to fall on parts of the South Coast, which could help extinguish the devastating bushfires which have been raging in the region for several months. Per the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7879977/Bushfires-Heavy-rainfall-forecasted-New-South-Wales-gives-huge-hope-firefighters.html">Daily Mail</a>, the Bureau of Meteorology published a map that shows rain forecast for almost the whole of NSW in the next week. 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. <s>#</s>NSWRFS <s>#</s>nswfires [sic]" Take a look at this report on the urgent environmental crisis:  [[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/CZLDD6OX-Q0L14jDU.mp4||CZLDD6OX]] However, the rainfall does not mean that the crisis is over. In a recent statement, NSW Rural Fire Service spokesperson Anthony Bradstreet <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/13/australia-fires-heavy-rain-and-cooler-temperatures-unlikely-to-end-bushfire-threat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told The Guardian</a> that the rainfall is probably not going to be heavy enough to put out the major fires. Bradstreet claimed: "With the period of drought we’ve experienced, we’d need to get extended periods of consistent rainfall in order to get the moisture content up enough for it to put out fires … which is unlikely." 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.  <a class="u-underline" href="https://quickweb.westpac.com.au/OnlinePaymentServlet?cd_community=NSWRFS&cd_currency=AUD&cd_supplier_business=DONATIONS&action=EnterDetails" data-link-name="in body link">This link</a> 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 <a class="u-underline" href="http://www.givit.org.au/" data-link-name="in body link">website givit.org.au</a>. 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 <a class="u-underline" href="https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/supporting-cfa" data-link-name="in body link">two bank accounts</a> - 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 <a class="u-underline" href="https://cfsfoundation.org.au/donate" data-link-name="in body link">donate to them here</a>. You can also<a class="u-underline" href="https://cfsfoundation.org.au/support-us/leave-a-bequest/" data-link-name="in body link"> leave a bequest</a>. If you cannot find the particular brigade you are looking for, you can contact them directly.

Huge rain bomb to hit drought-ravaged Australia gives hope to tired firefighters

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