Australia Natural Disasters

Burnett Heads is okay I believe however there are roads that are flooded

but passable by vehicle.

However in Bundaburg there are evacuations of houses due to the highest

river since the 1950's

Victoria is subject mostly to drought, extreme heat, fire and dust storms. These include: * 13 January 1939, was "Black Friday", when a firestorm swept across southern Victoria, killing 71. Some of the resultant ash and smoke fell as far away as New Zealand. The bushfires were doused by welcome rains on January 15. * On 8 February 1983, a dust cloud 320m deep advanced towards Melbourne, already suffering a record February maximum temperature of 43.2°C. The dust storm hit the city around 3pm, dropping the temperatures dramatically, whilst wind squalls uprooted trees and unroofed houses. Visibility dropped to around 100m as the storm dumped approximately 1,000 tonnes of topsoil on the city.

The total mass of the 1983 Melbourne dust storm was estimated to be about two million tonnes: at its height, it extended across the entire width of Victoria, and was several kilometres deep. The cost of the damage of drought and dust storm combined was ultimately tens of millions of dollars. * 16 February 1983 saw the "Ash Wednesday" bushfires. On that day, eight days after the dust storm, approximately 180 bushfires broke out around the state. Around 200,000 hectares of land were destroyed, the equivalent of twice the size of Melbourne. 47 people were killed, including seventeen volunteer firefighters, over 2000 homes were destroyed and farmers experienced huge stock losses. * Victoria experienced an extreme heatwave when temperatures exceeded a record-breaking 47 degrees for several days and this, together with the tinder-dry countryside, provided the catalyst to horrific bushfires, starting on 7 February 2009, which lasted almost three weeks and killed over 200.

On 12 March 2009, authorities in Victoria announced that the last of the worst bushfires which caused the most death and devastation were under control. However, there were many minor fires that, without significant rain, were expected to continue to burn until the Australian winter, which begins in June. Conditions remained very dry, and lightning strikes caused more fires, but these were easily contained.

On Black Saturday in Kinglake on February 7th, 2009, temperatures were extremely high, reaching around 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit). These extreme temperatures contributed to the severity and spread of the devastating bushfires that occurred on that day.

Dry conditions(after a year of drought)

Australia's most bushfire-prone areas are wherever there is thick bushland, particularly in the southern states, which have long, hot, dry summers. Most of Victoria, South Australia's Adelaide Hills, Western Australia's southwest and the bushland around Sydney and the Blue Mountains seem to be the areas hit most frequently.

You can download Cyclone for Pokemon from the official website of the software developer or from reputable third-party app stores. Be cautious of downloading from unofficial sources to avoid potential risks of malware or viruses.

There are no real safe places in a bushfire. A large body of water will certainly provide some protection, but one could not surface whilst the bushfire passed. In the Eyre Peninsula bushfires of 2005, several people jumped into the sea to escape the flames.

Underground bunkers, if airtight, would be safe, but a standard basement would not. It is best to evacuate the area.

In Australia's Ash Wednesday bushfires of February 1983, the highest death toll in any one area was 21 people who were killed in the Belgrave Heights and Upper Beaconsfield areas, southeast of Melbourne.

Bushfires are just that bushfires.

Deadly if not controlled or directed, Preventable if managed.

Though managing the Bush through controlled burning leads to problems of a different kind it does reduce the spread and scale of the fire.

If your looking for more in depth explanation look at CALM Western Australia (Conservation And Land Management)

Now, in relation to this new so called anti-bikie legislation, I must be missing something! The government seems to be trying to convince the public that due to some percentage of club members being involved or having previously been involved in illegal activities that the whole club should be tarred with the same brush and classified as a criminal organisation. Have I got it right so far? Okay then, so what percentage of the police force needs to be proven to be corrupt or convicted of illegal activities before they are classified as a criminal organisation and shut down for the good of society? The latest apparently, is that two of the fu***** in Victoria are being investigated for the sexual assault of a woman during the recent bushfires! Words fail me on that one I`m afraid. Then of course we have the football clubs and their gang rapes and drug taking and alcohol fuelled violence, it all seems to happen pretty regularly, so we better classify them as criminal organisations as well. My biggest concern is what will happen to what is left of our society if the fools do manage to wipe out the "outlaw" clubs. Who or what will then act as a barrier between the scum and dregs of society and the scrawny blue line? These scum and dregs have no fear of, or respect for the police or the law, and as I see it about the only thing that stops them from unleashing a state of anarchy and complete chaos is the outlaw motorcycle clubs. I hope someone in power can get their feeble mind around this concept before it`s too late. Actually I doubt the country would be any worse off if they locked up all the jacks and distributed their badges to the clubs! THESE ARE NOT MY OWN WORDS THESE ARE THE WORDS I "QUOTE" FROMM A BIKIE MEMBER HIMSELF

Natural hazards in Australia, such as bushfires, droughts, and cyclones, have significant economic impacts by causing damage to infrastructure, property, and crops, disrupting industries, and increasing insurance costs. These events also have environmental impacts, such as loss of biodiversity, deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution. Social impacts include displacement of communities, loss of lives, health issues from air pollution, and mental health challenges from trauma and distress. Ultimately, these natural hazards highlight the need for effective disaster preparedness, response, and recovery strategies.

According to the Australian Government website for the Australian Institute of Criminology (see website link below): "13 percent of vegetation fires are recorded as being deliberate and another 37 percent as suspicious. That is, for all vegetation fires for which there is a cause recorded, 50 percent may be lit deliberately."

Cyclone Mahina, which hit north Queensland on 4 March 1899, was a category 5 cyclone, and resulted in the greatest death toll of any natural disaster in Australia. It hit a pearling fleet of around 100 vessels anchored at Bathurst Bay, killing 307 people were killed in this one act alone. Only 4 sailors survived. Just before the eye of the cyclone passed overland to the north a tidal wave 13 - 15 metres high, caused by the storm surge, swept inland for about 5 kilometres, destroying anything that was left of the Bathurst Bay pearling fleet, along with the settlement. The death toll of between 400 and 410 included at least 100 indigenous Australians, some of whom died when they were caught by the back surge and swept into the sea while trying to help shipwrecked men.

Thredbo is a ski resort town in the Australian Alps, specifically, the Kosciuszko National Park.

Australia is basically a hot, dry continent. Bushfires thrive in this environment. Even in cool weather, earlier rains cause vegetation to grow rapidly and when the rains stop and the vegetation dries out, the fire danger become high, regardless of the temperature.

Four people lost their lives in the fires.

Yes, the tragic fires of 16th February 1983 in South Australia and Victoria coincided with the Christian observance of Ash Wednesday.

Bushfires are an unfortunate reality and fact of life in south eastern Australia. A combination of severe weather such as occurred on the 7th of February, 2009, with temperatures in the mid to high 40s celsius, strong and gusty hot northerly winds, our 12 year drought and lack of responsible land management by individuals and government departments, creates the ideal environments for bushfires such as we are now experiencing in Victoria. The effects are loss of life, loss of homes and property, degradation of land and environment, loss of stock and wildlife. Once an area has been burned out and denuded of vegetation, there is little left to hold the soil together, and any significant wind or hopefully, rain, will erode or wash away whatever is left. The Victorian bushfires to date (17-Feb-2009) killed over 200 people and destroyed over 1800 homes. Several towns were wiped off the map, 400,000 hectares of land burned out, an unknown number of stock, vehicles, miscellaneous buildings, fencing, communications infrastructure, power lines, etc. were also destroyed. The effects of the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires are still visible around Mount Macedon if you look carefully. The effects of these current bushfires will continue well into the future.

Whilst this is a question that many people are probably asking right now, with the bushfires having continued since 7 February, it is certain that the bushfires will end eventually. The return of hot, dry, gusty weather has caused the fires to continue, fed by the tinder-dry countryside, but these conditions must end sometime.

Bushfires are fast and intense, and can engulf whole towns very quickly. As a result, dozens can be killed in a town at any one time. For example, the Victorian "Black Saturday" bushfires which began on 7 February 2009 killed a known total of 173 people - Australia's worst ever bushfire toll to date.

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.

The devastating bushfires in Victoria, Australia, officially started on Saturday, 7 February 2009. Fire authorities were alerted to the worst of the fires at Kilmore, at 11.20am on Saturday, when smoke and then flames were seen near the top of a hill outside the town in central Victoria.

Australian RFS (Rural Fire Service) often advise residents to either abandon their homes early OR if they wish to defend their home, they are given basic instructions (like clearing gutters, spraying the house with water, etc). RFS do not necessarily recommend that civilians stay and defend, however they note that your house has a better chance of survival if you do. Problems with this approach have been seen in the early 09 Victora bushfires where the death toll was over 100 - however most of these deaths were sustained through last minute fleeing of the bushfire. The RFS advises that its safer to stay inside your structure when the fire is too close for comfort, rather than run outside and expose yourself to all the elements.