The neighboring state of Victoria, the border of which is just across the mountains from us, is currently suffering from dozens of bushfires. (Australians use the term “bush” to refer to undeveloped land and rural, country areas). The fires started during Saturday’s record temperatures. Over 130 people have died so far and over 750 homes have been lost. The death toll is expected to rise as the search for the missing continues. They say this is Australia’s worst natural disaster in history.
This story is dominating the news and there are some horrific stories coming out about whole towns being virtually wiped out, 40 storey high flames racing like a train across the countryside, residents huddling in swimming pools as the flames approached their homes, burnt-out cars strewn across the roads, having been engulfed in flames as people tried unsuccessfully to outrun the flames, some only to die in head-on collisions on the smoke-filled roads. Smoke from the fires is said to have reached as far as New Zealand.
Even more tragic is that, while the numerous fires are largely the result of recent lightning strikes, authorities suspect arsonists are responsible for lighting or relighting some of the fires. Kevin Rudd, Australia's Prime Minister, described them as "mass murder.” A report released last week by the government’s Australian Institute of Criminology said half of the nation’s 20,000 to 30,000 bush fires each year are started deliberately. Bushfires are a normal event in Australia but the recent record high temperatures in combination with the ongoing drought and unfavorable winds made these fires reach unprecedented scale and ferocity.
It is a tragic irony that while these fires were raging in Victoria the northern parts of Queensland were suffering from record flooding. At least a couple of towns have been cut off completely for days. Crocodiles in flooded creeks running through the middle of some towns have hampered rescue efforts. A 5 year old boy who followed his dog into the floodwaters is feared to have been taken by a crocodile. Monsoon rains are a seasonal norm for the “top end” of Australia but, again like the fires in Victoria, the intensity this time is extreme.
Thankfully, things are quite placid here in Jindabyne.
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The following photos are from smh.com.au and guardian.co.au.
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