The Australian city of Sydney was encircled by flames on Friday as firefighters tackled the worst bushfires in the region for 30 years. Despite some rain overnight and falling temperatures, strong winds are fanning the flames of nearly 80 blazes which remain out of control to the north, west and south of the city. Thousands of residents have fled their homes and more than 3,000 firefighters have joined the battle to stem the bushfires. The body of an elderly man, found in a burnt-out caravan at Maroota north of Sydney, brought the number of dead to two, after a 73-year-old man died of a heart attack on Wednesday.