How fragile life is
I don’t have the words to express what a horrific weekend this has been for so many in Australia. The bushfires in Victoria have been the worst ever and the devastation is massive. If you haven’t seen the news, there are accounts on all of the major Australian online news sites:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/bushfires/
Herald Sun Frontpage
The Age Frontpage
This is a map of the fires
Another interactive map here.
This is a terrifying and wrenching account of being caught in the bushfire and surviving
While we ourselves have been safe it is a very surreal feeling to have been so close and yet to have come through unscathed. (For which we are eternally grateful). We live about half an hour away from the closest fires. It has been like watching a huge rock being dropped in a pond and watching the ripples spread further and further out. At the centre you have the people who have lost their lives or families and their homes. They have suffered the most and are the ones counted by the news reports in the terrible tallies. But then you have the ones next to the epicentre, the ones who have suffered terrible burns and injuries, who fill up the emergency departments. Then there are the people who don’t live where the fires are but who have lost relatives or friends. There are the people who can’t contact their relatives or friends and who don’t know what has happened. And there is the huge toll on animals that is so easy to overlook, including farms being wiped out, and Healesville Zoo evacuated. On Saturday when temperatures reached 46 degrees (115 F) one of our hens died just from the heat.
And then you have the people who are tourists or travellers who have been affected. My Aunt and cousin are over here visiting from New Zealand. They went to stay with another Aunt over the weekend who lives in rural Victoria – they haven’t been able to get back to Melbourne because the highways and back roads have been closed. The train isn’t expected to run again until later this week. Yea and Healesville are very popular tourist destinations with lots vineyards. On Saturday there were weddings planned to take place in these locations that were severely impacted. In Yea the town was cut off on three sides by fires. A good reminder that travel insurance is a really good thing.
Notes here on Bushfires for Tourists
The fires are still going and the toll is rising all the time. I am sure the ripples will continue to be felt for quite some time to come.
Links are here for people wanting to help survivors:
Bushfire help
Bushfire appeals
