Parts of New South Wales and Queensland woke to catastrophic bushfire danger warnings and towns and cities blanketed in smoke on Tuesday. Hundreds of schools were closed and residents in bushland areas were advised to leave as conditions were expected to worsen. Two hundred homes and sheds had been destroyed in recent days and three people confirmed dead.

• Live coverage of Tuesday’s catastrophic fire conditions

• How you can donate and help with the NSW and Queensland bushfires

• Open thread: tell us how you’re affected by the fires

• If you are in a bushfire affected area stay tuned to your local emergency broadcaster. Full alerts can be found here for NSW and here for Queensland