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Australia Natural Disasters

Australia - a land of droughts and flooding rains, cyclones, and bushfires. All about Australia's worst natural disasters and their effects.

500 Questions

What Australian event was known as 'Black Friday'?

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Black Friday is, I believe, used to refer to serious bushfires in Australia which occurred on a Friday in 1939. These were not as serious as the recent catastrophic fires, but quite a number of people lost their lives, especially in the State of Victoria.

How did the black Saturday fires get the name black Saturday?

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The term "Black Saturday" was used to refer to the devastating bushfires that occurred on February 7, 2009 in the state of Victoria, Australia. The name stems from the severity and impact of the fires that led to the loss of many lives and properties, resulting in widespread devastation and a day of mourning for the affected communities.

What should you do during a bushfire in a car?

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If you find yourself in a car during a bushfire, it is generally safer to leave and seek shelter in a low-lying area away from vegetation. However, if it is not possible to safely exit the vehicle, roll up the windows and close all air vents to minimize smoke inhalation. If the fire is approaching, park the car behind a solid structure or in a clearing away from flammable materials, and cover yourself with a woolen blanket or jacket to protect against radiant heat.

Can a bushfire be prevented?

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You can't prevent bush fires, but you can prevent them spreading to your house....

Clear your house and garden from dry leaves and clear your gutters of flammable objects.......

Keep protective clothing near by and make sure you have lots of water sources...

Why Australian bushfires are important?

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Fire can be a devastating fact of life within the Australian bush lands, especially after periods of severe drought.

How many houses where destroyed in black Saturday?

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The towns destroyed or severely damaged in the February 2009 bushfires were:

  • Marysville
  • Kinglake
  • Narbethong
  • Hazeldene
  • Kilmore
  • Yea
  • Churchill
  • Narre Warren

Other towns and regions affected, but not severely damaged, include:

  • Beechworth
  • Flowerdale
  • Horsham
  • Coleraine
  • Weerite
  • Bunyip
  • Dargo
  • Wilson's Promontory and the West Gippsland area

Part of the city of Bendigo was also badly affected by separate fires, still adding over 30 to the death toll.

How many bushfires occur in a year in Australia?

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According to the Australian Government's website, and backed by data from the Australian Institute of Criminology, there are roughly 52,000 bushfires every year. Actual figures may vary from 46,000 to 62,000 per year.

Do we get cyclones in Brisbane?

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Not normally.

Brisbane tends to be too far south to be hit by cyclones. The warm water currents necessary for a cyclone's development usually do not extend as far south as Brisbane, although a cyclone could, conceivably, be caught in such a current.

Cyclones on Australia's eastern side readily form in the Coral Sea any time between November and April. If they do track south, they are unlikely to retain their wind strength, but they can still cause major damage with flooding rains. This was what happened in the 1974 floods in Brisbane, when Cyclone Wanda crossed the coast several hundred kilometres north of Brisbane, but then continued inalnd, dumping hundreds of millimetres of rain, despite its wind strength being depleted.

What are some flood prone areas in Australia?

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The most drought-prone areas are the areas inland from the coast. Drought hits all areas of Australia (including the coast) but drought is more prevalent in inland Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Northern Territory and throughout South Australia and Western Australia. Even Tasmania can be subject to drought.

What were the impacts of the Black Saturday bushfires?

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There were many social, economic, environmental and political effects resulting from the horrific 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.

To begin with, 173 people lost their lives. This was a terribly traumatic time for those who lost friends and family. Significant numbers of people from small communities were affected. Whole towns were almost completely destroyed, or severely damaged, such as Marysville, Kinglake, Narbethong, Hazeldene, Kilmore, Yea, Churchill and Narre Warren. Over 1,800 homes were destroyed, and this resulted in more trauma of loss and displacement, not to mention the massive economic impacts of so much property loss. Two years after the disaster, only 41% of properties had been rebuilt or were in the process of rebuilding.

The total economic cost, including insurance payouts, has been estimated at A$4.4 billion. This figure does not include agricultural losses, which were estimated to include 11,800 head of livestock, 62,000 hectares of grazing land and 32,000 tonnes of hay and silage.

The bushfires burned over 400,000 hectares of land, and thousands of native animals were killed. There were 27 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Actlisted species in the fire area and another 19 Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act listed species in the fire area, so the effect on vulnerable species and biodiversity was severe. Many recovery programmes for these affected species were put in place: details can be found at the related weblink below.

What is the impact of bushfires have on humans?

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One reason is that the Eucalyptus tree, a kind of myrtle, has a very high concentration of volatile oils. Fires can start naturally, but there are episodes of arson from time to time. The many species of Eucalyptus are abundant in parts of Australia.

How do dust storms happen?

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A dust storm is usually caused by the top layer of earth becoming very dry over time, usually from a drought. When the wind becomes heavy enough, it will pick up only the smallest particles of dirt, which resembles dust, and will carry them through the air.

Was there any earthquakes in Australia besides Newcastle?

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It is not known what, exactly, caused the Newcastle earthquake of 1989.

Originally, investigations following the earthquake suggested that it was triggered by 200 years of underground coal mining. Geoscientists from Columbia University claimed that removal of 500 mega tonnes of coal and 2000 mega tonnes of water removed from the ground reactivated a major faultline underneath the Newcastle's coalfields. Removal of millions of tonnes of coal, and the pumping out of water needed in the mining process, created enough stress to reactivate a fault line beneath the Newcastle coal fields.

However, a 2007 report cast doubts on this theory, which came from a US report. Australian geoscientists believe more factors were involved, as evidenced by the fact that minor earthquakes have occurred in the Hunter Valley coal mining region from time to time, and not necessarily close to the coal mining sites. The epicentre of the quake was simply too far underground to have been caused by coal mining alone.

For more details on possible causes of the Newcastle earthquake, see the link below.

Why are there very few volcanoes and earthquakes in Australia?

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Australia does experience earthquakes, but not as severely or as commonly as in say Japan, Iran or New Zealand. Meckering WA in 1968 and Newcastle NSW 1989 were two earthquakes which caused severe damage, and loss of life in the case of Newcastle, largely because Australian building codes generally do not take into account earthquakes because their frequency is so low. There were two minor earthquakes off Broome WA and in Gippsland Vic in March 2009.

Essentially, Australia is situated far from tectonic plate margins which are the "hotspots" for severe earthquakes. Stresses can develop away from plate margins, which is why the continent can experience relatively minor earthquakes. Because Australia is centrally located on one of the shields of the earths crust. These are old solid parts of the earth's crust where there is no volcanic activity or movement so there is little in the way of seismic activity.

Which parts of Australia are in drought?

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All parts of Australia are subject to drought, but those parts least likely to be affected include:

  • far north east Queensland
  • the "Top End" - north Northern Territory
  • coastal regions of Tasmania
  • far southeastern coastal regions of the mainland

How long did black Saturday last?

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The Black Saturday bushfires began on 7 February 2009, and continued for almost five weeks. On 12 March Victorian authorities announced that the last of the worst bushfires which caused the most death and devastation were under control. However, smaller fires continued, controlled, for many months after that.