Did any of you hear about the Bushfires in Melbourne Australia? 36 people were killed by the fires. My house was about a 20 minute drive from one of the fires. But thank God nothing happened near my area.
I saw a report on it today in a news channel and it was really terrifying to see fires raging on both the sides of a road..... The tragic incident was filmed from a helicopter and it showed the devastation to be really huge I am happy that at least your house was saved from it...Hope the casualty figure does not increase any more... Is the fire under control...now?
The images of the devastation was shocking to say the least. So many lives lost and so quickly. Thousands of people lost everything they owned.
Just saw the news on T.V, the footage that they showed was really shocking..hope the situation improves soon and there are no more casualities. But of what I have heard bush fires have become quite frequent in Australia, guess measures need to be taken to prevent or atleast reduce the impact of such disasters in the future.
I saw it yesterday on channel seven I think. I guess the best people in those areas could have done is prepared for it. Common sense would tell you that really dry areas with lots of open space, eg paddocks and so on would suffer the most. Let's hope this heatwave has passed, at least for 2009
The extreme temperature made it extremely likely for bush fires. But the reports indicate that arsonists may be behind it. These guys should face the heaviest punishments that the law allow. The fires are not only damaging to the environment but 65 killed and entire towns destroyed are really no joke.
What I find very interesting in all this is that the northern part of Australia is under water while the southern part is under fire. If there was some way to get the water from the north to the south then both problems would be solved simultaneously. In any case, the devastation that the fire is causing is indeed grave. I really hope the fire fighters can get things under control soon even though I know strong winds and dry grass are making the job that much harder. I really hope no else dies as a result.
I am from melbourne, I was just chatting to someone who lost their house... I am living in NZ at the moment and I was unaware of how bad it is... 76 are now confirmed dead over there... its pretty bad... Its kinda hard to " prepare " for something like this... unless you live there you do not know what a strong northely wind can do when it its hot... you can stop it... all you can do is try and get out of its way and manage the damage as well as you can..
It's peak summer in Australia, so it was bound to happen with this year being one of the hottest for Australia.
The source of fire is more probably man made. I have heard and seen many such fire incidents because of the casual acts of the miscreants but it is high time that the government concerned comes with a contingency plan to minimize loss of property and save the precious human lives. Are we prepared?
I am in south aus, and we are feeling so helpless that we cannot help more. It has now been declared the worse in australian history and the death toll is expected to continue to rise. I would encourage anyone that can afford to, should try to donate. And anyone lving in Victoria should try to donate blood, they will need alot of it.
Not really possible to stop such arson, the country is too big. Once a fire is detected I guess it is serious enough by then. Together with the dryness of the bushes and trees, it is a timber box. My place is totally not affected, but still the weather is unbearable so much so that once the school holidays begin, all of us will be out of Australia.
When you have bushfires catching up on people fleeing by car at max speed, you have a problem! I never realised fires could move so quick. Hope the assholes who started the fires are strung up and not just given a slap.
I've been in the city for the last week, and am going home tomorrow (to Central Vic). Not exactly feeling comfortable about it. The first thing I'm going to do when I get home is pack the car, and get ready to leave again - in a hurry. Google map of fire locations: http://www.theage.com.au/national/urgent-threats-20090208-80k1.html CFA incidents/updates page: http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/incident_updates.htm Photos taken from www.theage.com.au
I am traveling in Brisbane at the moment and its not a good situation the north and south are in trouble. Hopefully it will be ok after this
I am trying to get through to the redcross line to donate, and see if i can send over a whole lot of clothes, blankets, and kids toys that my children can do without. But they line has been busy all day. Can you imagine losing everything you ever owned. I imagine photos, pets and ofcource friends and family would be the worse