Extreme Weather and Bushfire in Australia

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Melbourne, Victoria and other parts of Australia over the past months have witnessed a dramatic change of weather, from as cold as 04 celsius in the winter, to as hot as 45c for 3 days in a row in summer (Jan/Feb 2009) ... so much so that bushfire are reported in some parts of Australia, prompting the PM, Kevin Rudd to call for extra budget to help the victims of bushfire. Already 110 people are reported death, and the tolls are climbing as of today. Needless to say, thousands of farm animals are burnt to death in the bushfire. Lost of properties and farm goods are in the millions of dollars.

See news reported below:

URLhttp://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5308391/rescuers-brace-bushfire-horror/ (Retrieved on 9th Feb 2009)

Rescuers brace for more bushfire horror
ABC - February 9, 2009, 10:48 am

Authorities in Victoria have warned volunteers they face a grim and confronting task as they start to pick up the pieces from the deadliest bushfire disaster in Australian history.
At least 107 people have died and 750 homes have been lost in the horrific blazes, which continue to rage throughout the state. Police say the toll is expected to rise today as identification crews fan out to devastated communities.

Fire crews have now accessed many of the worst hit areas left decimated by the intensity of the fires, but there are many areas that rescue crews are unable to get to because of safety issues. "I warn you that there are many areas where there are issues because of sensitivity. Do you understand what I mean?" state duty fire officer Mark Glover told volunteers last night in a reference to bodies left in cars and houses.

He says today will be a day of consolidation. Thousands of homeless people will remain in emergency shelters. Victorian Police Commissioner Christine Nixon told AM the toll would rise.
"It was one of those fires. It was a very fast fire. What we're seeing was people who were in cars and were trying to flee and some people were in their houses and they died," she said.

"People were prepared but it was just so quick." The Kinglake region, north-east of Melbourne , remains the worst-affected, losing at least 32 people and more than 550 homes. Whole towns, such as Marysville, have been burnt to the ground. Thirty-one fires continue to burn across Victoria. Authorities suspect arsonists are responsible for some fires and police are treating some razed towns as crime scenes.

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, says deliberately starting the fires is mass murder. Mr Rudd was extremely emotional on Channel Nine this morning as he described his reaction to the deaths. The fire that is of most concern is burning out of control in Victoria's north-east, threatening the townships of Stanley and Eskdale. Other places including Bruarong, Dederang, Gundowring, Kancoona, Coral Bank, Glen Creek and Running Creek could also be affected. The flames have crossed the Kiewa River, putting the communities of Eskdale and Little Snowy Creek at risk. Mr Glover says crews are trying to stop the fire spreading in a north-easterly direction. "They're working hard at the moment to bring that around, but it's not working too well, so as a consequence they have issued some advice to Eskdale to be on the alert for sparks and embers," he said.

People affected by the Victorian bushfires will be able to apply for payments as part of a $10 million disaster relief fund set up by the Federal Government. The money will go to people who were seriously injured or hospitalised, and to those who lost their homes. Eligible adults will receive $1,000 and an additional $400 payment will be made per child. The Department of Human Services is distributing thousands of recovery booklets to fire-affected areas. Spokesman Steve Pivetta says help is there for those who most need it urgently. "We have personal hardship grants, one in particular is just over a $1,000, which is not means-tested, that's an emergency assistance grant which provides basic assistance for immediate basic needs only," he said.

URLhttp://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5308723/australias-deadly-bushfire-kills-108/
(Retrieved on 9th Feb 2009)

Australia's deadly bushfire kills 108
February 9, 2009, 9:54 am

WHITTLESEA, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's deadliest bushfire crisis eased on Monday, but the death toll kept rising with at least 108 people killed as families searched for scores of missing in the twisted, charred ruins. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the bushfires, some of which police believe were deliberately lit, constituted "mass murder," with media reporting the death toll could reach 170 as authorities searched hundreds of burned-out homes.
"This is of a level of horror that few of us anticipated. There are no words to describe it other than mass murder," Rudd told Australian television. "These numbers (dead) are numbing...and I fear they will rise further." The previous worst bushfire tragedy was in 1983 when 75 people were killed in the "Ash Wednesday" fires.

A massive bushfire tore through several small towns north of Melbourne on Saturday night destroying everything in its path. Many people died in cars trying to flee the inferno, others were killed huddled in their homes, yet some miraculously escaped by diving into pools and farm reservoirs or hiding in their cellar.

"It was a most horrible day. It's going to look like Hiroshima, I tell you. It's going to look like a nuclear bomb. There are animals dead all over the road," survivor Dr Chris Harvey told the local media. More than 750 houses were destroyed and some 78 people, with serious burns and injuries, are in hospital. Thousands of firefighters continued on Monday to battle the fire and scores of other blazes across the southern state of Victoria, as well as fires in New South Wales state.

While cooler, less windy, conditions helped firefighters, 10 major fires remained out of control in Victoria. The bushfires have burned out more than 330,000 hectares in Victoria. Wildfires are a natural annual event in Australia, but this year a combination of scorching weather, drought and tinder-dry bush has created prime conditions for blazes to take hold. Green lawmakers have been urging stiffer climate-change policies to reduce the risk of more such summer disasters. The Victorian bushfire tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. In 1899, Cyclone Mahina struck Australia's northern Cape York, killing more than 400.