Generica Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I am so saddened by the bushfires that have devastated much of the state of Victoria in Australia. 65 found dead so far, whole towns gone, 700 houses. There are some towns that cannot even be accessed. The authorities can't even begin to assess how many more people have lost their lives. Families found dead in their cars, having tried to flee. The fires are still going & there's nothing that can be done to stop them. It is such a tragedy. I've been in tears watching the coverage. And to think that arsonists started a lot of the fires makes me truly sick. I am going to donate a lot of my pay this week to the relief fund. If any members are in Victoria, Australia, I hope you & your loved ones are OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelikejazz Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 wow. It's up to 84. That's more than the ash Wednesday death toll. I just can't comprehend walls of fire like that. I can't smell the smoke now, even though air quality is pretty bad. It totally sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liveoak Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I'm so very sorry. I wish I knew what else to say. Please be safe, and keep letting us know you are ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy10 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I was horrified to read of it today. Terrible, terrible tragedy. Sickening to think at least some of it was arson. I really hope they end soon. I am so sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 What a frightening thing! Just the pictures of it are scary--I can't imagine the reality. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelikejazz Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 The death count goes up as they find more and more cars. My state is pretty under control, hectares are still burning but nothing risking property or life, so at least that frees up some helicopters for Victoria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generica Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 So glad to hear it, Bluelikejazz. The authorities now think the toll will be over 200, it is just catastrophic. More stories are coming out from small towns that no-one knew the fate of yesterday. Some tiny towns have lost 20 people, on top of almost every single house. I can't imagine the impact to such small communities. I was gutted to hear of the mother who got out but her children remained in the house and were lost. How do you go on? Sadly there will be more stories like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serotonin junkie Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Death toll is now officially 131. Yeah Generica, I think it will hit 200. The police have yet to go into many homes to count the dead. I'm here in Victoria, and I don't know anyone in the fire ravaged regions. But, I know people who do, and I've been hearing about their anguish. It's horrible. And I just couldn't think of a more awful way to go, and the small children trapped in cars.... I don't know what to say. This is the worst thing I've seen in my state ever. I remember Ash Wednesday, I was only young, six, but I remember it. It burnt a good part of the Otways forest and killed 45 people in Victoria. I lived just on the edge of that. I think it's luck the Otways didn't go up this time. It's dry as, and a time bomb waiting to happen. There's parents who have lost their kids, and there's kids who have lost their parents. Whole towns completely wiped out. Looks like an atomic bomb has wiped out some of these areas. Really gotta donate something to help. Just can't sit back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 It's horrifying to see the fearceness of the fires. I keep seen scenes with abandoned cars on the roads and wonder if they managed to escape. Best wishes to all our Aussie friends and their families. a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generica Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 I think that's what unnerves me the most... the cars burnt out along the roads out of the towns. Somehow I don't think the occupants abandoned the cars & got away on foot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scatty Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 How horrific! I don't know what else to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serotonin junkie Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 The official count is 173 lives now. The police are warning us to expect it to rise to 300. Looks like I'll be donating $400 as I had a court case today. I got off with a diversion and was ordered by a magistrate to pay that to the red cross fire appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 What a great magistrate We're donating what $$$ we can. I might do a shop tonight for emergency supplies (razors, nappies, tampons and the like) and drop them off at one of the collection points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generica Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Hear hear, what an amazing decision on behalf of the magistrate. I'm sure that's one 'punishment' you won't be sorry to receive, serotonin junkie. The toll is truly terrible, I can see how it will get to 300 as they keep finding so many people in each town. It turns out a lot of people crashed their cars as the tried to speed out in zero visibility. What a nightmare. The terror of seeing 80 metre high walls of flames racing towards you would be simply unspeakable. Houses simply exploded as it hit them. You just wouldn't stand a chance. I've made a donation to the Red Cross (www.redcross.org.au) & a group of us have banded together gathering items to truck to Victoria. The generosity of people has been staggering, $29m AUD donated by the public to the Red Cross alone in 2 days. That is a lot for such a small country. I'm praying that the remaining 20+ fires in the area that are threatening more towns can be brought under control. It seems like there are a few leads in the arsonist investigation, and some of the bastards will hopefully be brought to justice & charged with murder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelikejazz Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I donated to red cross too. I'm wondering if it would be better to send money so that organisations can buy supplies closer to the border or from unaffected areas, and if that would be more effective than sending stuff. IDK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generica Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yeah, that's true bluelikejazz, we just had a call from our radio station for donations of material goods. Some people I know didn't have the money but did have the goods. I guess if clothes & other goods are donated it frees up more of the other money for other uses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serotonin junkie Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yeah I think it's great that the courts are funnelling money into the Red Cross, though I really wanted to donate to Wildlife Victoria. (at one stage we were told that we had a choice, but not yesterday) They desperately need money too as hundreds of thousands of wildlife have been wiped out, and they are trying to look after many sick and orphaned animals. Would have been nice to go half and half. I think I'll donate to Wildlife Victoria anyhow... EDIT: Just found out that my brother-in-law, who is a police officer, is heading out to the bushfire region for three days. His job is to head to houses, and look in cars, to find the dead. Such a horrible job, and it's not what he normally does by a mile, but it shows how far police resources are being spread to cover the aftermath of the fires. I thought this was a great picture of a CFA firefighter providing water to an injured koala. Apparently the koala drank 3 bottles of water. Just found a video of it too... [link= target="_blank] [/link] From youtube: He said he was in the middle of backburning at Mirboo North when he saw the stricken koala. "I could see she had sore feet and was in trouble, so I pulled over the fire truck. She just plonked herself down, as if to say 'I'm beat'," he said. "I offered her a drink and she drank three bottles. "The most amazing part was when she grabbed my hand. I will never forget that." Mr Tree and his brigade then received an emergency call-out to save a house, but minutes later Sam was picked up by wildlife carers. She is one of 22 koalas, 14 ringtail possums, several wallabies and eastern grey kangaroos that have been handed into Gippsland carers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generica Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 The wildlife, domesticated & farm animals that were lost in this disaster would have felt the same fear as the humans. A lot of the koala population in the region is gone. I was disgusted to read today that a conservative minister of religion announced that the tragedy was brought upon the people of Victoria as punishment by God for passing abortion laws. With respect to an individual's or churches right to their opinion about abortion, but it is truly sick & twisted to voice such a heartless comment at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelikejazz Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I was horrified Pastor Danny said that. He is rather extreme but that one...seriously I don't know what sort of brain explosion he had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liveoak Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 poor koala drank 3 bottles of water. She surely would've died without his intervention. As I understand it, koalas rarely drink water, deriving their liquids from eucalyptus leaves. A heartwarming story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serotonin junkie Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Yeah those images of "Sam" the koala have gone all over the world now. I was just about to go down to the supermarket and buy up a stack of cat and dog food to take to animal aid - they're dealing with pets, farm animals, wildlife, the lot. But, I just looked at their website and they don't have any room left for food! They've had heaps of people helping out by the sounds of it. Looks like the fire near Healesville is now posing a risk to the town. I really don't think this is over at all. We're still in summer, and we're bound to have more 40+ degree days with strong north winds. There's still plenty of dry forest in this state to burn, like the Otways, as I mentioned before, which went up like a fireball in Ash Wednesday. My dad is worried about that area too, as we know it well. It's really dry. All it takes is another arsonist, or the bottom of a coke bottle, or a flicked cigarette, or a lightning strike... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generica Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 It certainly is scary living anywhere near the Australian bush in summer - and that includes a lot of suburban areas soon. We love to live in the bush, in the mountains, near nature, but there is the constant reminder that nature can be dangerous. From deadly snakes through to bushfires. I was glad to hear that they have caught an arsonist, he goes to court next week (well, probably appears via tv hookup, so he doesn't get lynched), and are closing in on another. May they rot in jail for what prime-minister Kevin Rudd rightly describes as 'Mass Murder'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serotonin junkie Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Yeah for sure. I agree with what Germaine Greer has come out and said also. She's blunt as usual but I get what she's banging on about. We need to burn the bush in cooler times. Indigenous people did that for thousands of years. We need to learn from them. The bush in Australia is meant to burn. It's part of the life cycle. It might make the forest look like shit for awhile, but you get to watch it regrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isis Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I don't live in VIC but i have family there, luckily they are safe but they are feeling quite shocked and upset, as fire destroyed part of their community. Donations for the bushfire appeal are now up to $77 million, i heard recently.. Its truly amazing. Today there was a fire near my house, and the air is smoky, so much that my eyes are beginning to hurt even inside the house. Its probably about 5mins drive away from my house. there is a fairly large road in between, so hopefully it doesnt spread, as we are in for some more hot dry days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelikejazz Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thats so scary. If the worst happens will you stay and defend or evacuate? I can't imagine having to make that decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thats so scary. If the worst happens will you stay and defend or evacuate? I can't imagine having to make that decision. I grew up in a bushland community. One Christmas, we had a series of rather bad fires. Because of the way the land lay, there was one entrance and one exit to the area. Both of them were in flames. We pretty much had to stay and defend. Of course, this was the time our inground sprinkler system (fed from the dam) decided to die; we eventually figured out an eel managed to get caught in the pump. I still have very vivid memories of bucket-lines with my brothers wetting down fence posts, the house, and as much of the house paddock as we could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowbutterflies Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I am so sad when I hear news about the fires hitting Australia. Reading your descriptions really hit me, the horror and nightmarishness of the tragedies. I hope the people responsible for this are found and brought to justice (I know some people have been arrested already). I hope you and your family are okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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