January 10, 2016 - AUSTRALIA - Two men have been killed and at least one remains unaccounted for as deadly bushfires tore through the Western Australia town of Yarloop, destroying more than 130 buildings in its wake.
The remains of two men in their 70s were found by authorities who had been searching burnt-out buildings in Yarloop, 120km south of the state capital, Perth. The town was virtually obliterated by the fire.
A state of emergency remains in place for several communities including Harvey, Preston Beach, Lake Clifton, Myalup as well as their surrounding areas, The West Australian reports.
Authorities have warned residents to evacuate unless they are ready to actively defend their homes against bushfires that continue to burn. Police were knocking on doors in Harvey on Saturday directing people to leave.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said that while conditions had eased, the fire is not yet over.
This harrowing image from #dfeswa is an unimaginable sight that firefighters were faced with on Thursday night 😔 With over 130 homes in #yarloop
lost to the fire,
as well as two lives, it is hard to not feel
devastated for everyone involved. We have spent the last few days on and
off alerts & looking out for family & friends who are
closer to
the fire zone. Amazing job being done by the firefighters and their
support crews and we are thinking of all those people who don't have a
home to go back to.
Such amazing community spirit being shown with so
much help being offered. Hopefully the winds will become favourable and
the
fire can be brought under control as soon as possible. Instagram: oldcoastmarkets
To the brave firemen that are out at Yarloop, Waroona, Harvey and other
small towns..thank you. You have been working hard for the
last 5 days
unfortunately this blaze is too big..but with hard work and dedication
hopefully you'll get it under control.
Instagram: oldcoastmarkets
This is the devastating image that is being seen by many of our brave
and honourable firefighters....the south west of wa (Australia) is under
threat by and major fire,
many town have been evacuated and there homes
lost in this ever increasing threat. We may be 40 minutes away from the
danger but have seen plumes of smoke
for the last few days, as it
continues to grow further south. There are many places to donate for
those who now have nothing but the clothes they left with,
please take
the time to care. By making as many as we can aware and we can all spare
something to give to those have lost everything.
Instagram: oldcoastmarkets
"Our priorities are the northern division between Waroona and the Forrest Highway, the Lake Clifton area and then the southern area out of Harvey," incident controller Brad Della Vale said.
"I think we are not out of the woods yet, I think today's work will reveal how good our containment lines are at this stage, although the winds aren't going to be strong they get up to about 30 kilometres, at 3:00pm ... so that will be the pressure point I think."
A separate bushfire that has been threatening lives and homes around the Dalyup area in the Shire of Esperance has been downgraded to a watch and act.
So far fires have raged through more than 70,000 hectares in the state's South West.Wildfires are an annual summer event in Australia, but rising temperatures have prompted some scientists to warn that climate change could increase the length and intensity of the summer fire season. - RT.
Firefighters battle a fire near Yarloop in Western Australia. The out-of-control blaze has destroyed 95 homes.
(FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES/AFP/Getty Images)
January 9, 2016 - WESTERN AUSTRALIA - A bushfire destroyed nearly 100 homes in western Australia as it swept through countryside south of Perth, but there were no casualties reported after emergency officials and local media said on Friday that three missing people had been found safe.
Fanned by blustery, hot winds, the bushfire, which razed 58,000 hectares (143,321 acres) of land this week, ripped through the small rural town of Yarloop on Thursday night.
Around 95 homes were destroyed in the town of 545 people, along with its post office, fire station and shops, media reports said.
“I believe we’ve had what I would suggest are catastrophic losses within Yarloop,” said Wayne Gregson, Western Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner.
Three people, who were registered as missing, were found safe, while most of people who stayed to defend their properties were being evacuated by air or road, The Australian newspaper reported.
“It just got out of control … after that it just ripped through, it was quite scary,” volunteer firefighter Jesse Puccio told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “It’s like when you see in the war when the napalm bombers go through.”
WATCH: Australian bushfire destroys nearly 100 homes.
The bushfire continues to threaten other beef and dairy producing towns in the state, emergency workers said.
Alcoa Inc said two of its buildings have been destroyed but its Western Australia alumina refining operations were unaffected by the fire.
Australian has suffered a series of fires due to a long hot, dry spell.
Four people were killed in a series of bushfires sparked by lightning in Western Australia in November, two people were killed in fires in South Australia state, and more than 100 homes were destroyed in fires on Christmas Day in Victoria state.
Wildfires are an annual summer event in Australia, but rising temperatures have prompted some scientists to warn that climate change could increase the length and intensity of the summer fire season.
Australia experienced its fifth hottest year on record in 2015, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, which has been keeping statistics since 1910. - The Globe and Mail.
December 30, 2015 - VICTORIA, CANADA - A 4.9 magnitude earthquake has struck near Victoria, British
Columbia, in Canada, the US Geological Survey said. Tremors have been
reportedly felt as far away as Seattle.
The epicenter was 19km northeast of Victoria and struck just before midnight. A tsunami warning has not been issued.
No injuries have been reported, while the seismic activity was reportedly 42km deep, according to CBC.
USGS shakemap intensity.
Nearby Vancouver has shut down its SkyTrain Expo, M-line, due to the quake. The authorities say it will only reopen once the situation is considered safe, TransLink BC is reporting on its Twitter feed.
The Vancouver Mayor’s office says there have been no reports of any major damage in the city, with no power outages either.
An auditor general’s report in 2014 mentioned that British Columbia is not prepared for a major earthquake. Experts say that a quake with a magnitude of 7.3 could prove catastrophic, resulting in as many as 10,000 deaths, while some buildings would collapse, the Vancouver Observer reports.
The last major earthquake to hit the area was on Vancouver Island in 1946. - RT.
December 26, 2015 - VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA - Victoria state in Australia is suffering raging bushfires that
have already claimed over 100 homes in one of the country’s famous
tourist areas. Emergency authorities scrambled to fight the disaster and
warn more fires will come by the New Year.
Massive bushfires were fanned by winds and rapidly made advances across residential areas in the townships of Wye River and Separation Creek on Friday.
Victoria PM Daniel Andrews told journalists on Saturday, 116 homes are confirmed lost in the fires in Wye River and Separation Creek, though earlier assessments totaled 103 homes destroyed.
The fires started on 19 December with a lightning strike and have already burned more than 2,000 hectares (4,940 acres) of bush in Victoria state.
The fire also approached the popular tourist town of Lorne, 120 kilometers south of Melbourne, known for its picturesque Great Ocean Road route. Residents and tourists were told to flee in the middle of Christmas celebrations, but the alert was lifted shortly 9am as the bushfires began to ease.
However, emergency authorities said the fires are far from over, urging the population to stay vigilant. Although the firestorms are very intense, no fatalities have been reported.
Emergency warnings still remain in place for Wye River and Separation Creek, with the areas closed after residents evacuated on Christmas Day.
Traffic has been disrupted, with walking trails in nearby Great Otway National Park closed to the public, as some of the fires are in the park. A country fire authority notice said power is out, and fallen domestic solar power lines remain a threat.
The devastating fires are expected to last until January or even February in the hot, dry weather conditions – even rain will not do much to help fight the flames.
WATCH: Wildfire rages in Victoria, Australia.
“This fire doesn't go away,” emergency services commissioner Craig Lapsley told the news conference on Saturday, quoted by Reuters. “We will be back into hot, windy weather in January without a doubt. Everything's available to burn,” he warned.
The area is one of Australia's most beautiful tourist locations, famous for its amazing scenery, forests and offshore rock formations in the Southern Ocean. - RT.
December 20, 2015 - AUSTRALIA - Victoria will roast under temperatures tipped to soar as high as 45
degrees in the state's north-west on Saturday, with Melbourne not
expecting a reprieve from the dangerous heatwave until Sunday afternoon.
"Extreme" fire danger ratings have now been applied to four Victorian fire districts
for Saturday, Central - which includes Melbourne and surrounds - North
Central, Wimmera and South West. A further four districts are facing
"Severe" fire danger conditions.
A total fire ban has been declared for the whole weekend and a number of
parks have been closed. Ambulance Victoria meanwhile is bracing for
what could almost be a "perfect storm" on Saturday night, due to the
extreme heat and the potential for people to party too hard.
Higher wind speeds than were earlier expected, which could gust to 70 or
80km/h on Saturday and Sunday, have increased fire danger ratings.
Melbourne is expecting a staggering 41 degrees on Saturday - an unusual peak
before Christmas - with northerly winds in the morning of 35 to 50km/h.
The hottest temperature for Saturday, 45 degrees, is forecast for in
the Mallee including the small towns of Werrimull and Underbool.
WATCH: Aussie firefighters battle blazes in Melbourne.
Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley confirmed the
conditions this weekend would be the worst so far this fire season.
Saturday would be "extremely hot" and provide the most challenging.
"The most serious part for fire danger is actually tomorrow (Saturday)
afternoon. The winds will be strong, it'll be the hottest part of the
weekend. And in most parts of the state it will be reaching into the
40s," he said.
"We've had a baking period across Victoria where the fuels are now as
dry as they can be in most parts of the state. And we've now got hot
conditions running over a number of days and the winds will be 40 to 50
kilometres (per hour), gusting to 60 and 70 kilometres."
Paul Holman from Ambulance Victoria urged people to keep hydrated. "Heat
kills because we don't drink enough water, heat kills because we don't
respect it and heat kills because we complacently leave our children in
cars. So make sure we heed this weather, we are going into an extreme
period," he said.
"Tomorrow night is nearly a perfect storm for ambulance. We've got every
available resource across the state out. Combine the heat and combine
the partying and we really are going to be busy," he said.
Racing Victoria has cancelled thoroughbred racing. "The weather across
Victoria tomorrow will be extreme and we have taken a view, after
examining the latest forecast, that it is in the best interests of all
that we not conduct any race meetings," Chief Executive Bernard Saundry
said.
Tony Bannister from the Bureau of Meteorology said it was unusual for Melbourne to exceed 40 degrees in December. "This is usually a January/February thing."
He also said: "We're forecasting a record overnight min (minimum
temperature) on the Saturday night into the Sunday. At the moment we're
forecasting 28, the previous overnight record was 27.4 for Melbourne,
for December. And it's highly unusual that we forecast records."
Melbourne's average overnight temperature in December is 13 degrees.
By mid-afternoon on Friday 100 grass or bushfires had been reported in
Victoria. The temperature on Christmas Day is now forecast to be 31
degrees. - The Age.
Gusts of up to 67km/h were still being felt as the thick dust moved in
May 7, 2015 - AUSTRALIA - Red dust covered much of northwestern Victoria and the west of New South
Wales yesterday, making its way into the border city of Mildura,
Victoria, shortly after noon as gale force westerly winds culminated
with a dust storm.
A cold front moved rapidly through western and central Victoria on
Tuesday morning before weakening in the east in the afternoon.
The Bureau of Meterology issued a severe weather warning for
numerous districts, including the Mallee, late on Tuesday as damaging
winds swept across the state.
Dust storm, Australia.
Mildura weather station recorded a peak gust of 69 kilometres an hour
about 11.41am. Gusts of up to 67km/h were still being felt as the thick
dust moved in.
A sharp drop in temperature coincided with the dust storm, falling
almost five degrees between 12pm and 12.27pm, to 14.5C, with the
'apparent temperature' as low as 7.1C a few minutes later.
- Stock Journal.
February 26, 2015 - MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -
Lucky skywatchers who spotted a rare daylight meteor streaking across
the Victorian sky might never see one again in their lifetime, said one
astronomer.
Reports of the burst of flame across the blue sky
started flooding through on social media at about 10.30am on Wednesday,
with one describing it as a "fireball asteroid".
Astronomical
Society of Victoria spokesman Perry Vlahos said he had heard reports of
the sighting across the state, from Mildura to Wangaratta to Melbourne.
"It appears to have come in from the western sky burning with a bright
orange colour and leaving a white trail behind it," he said.
Mr
Vlahos said the soaring fireball was probably a space rock that has
been pulled in by the Earth's gravity and burned up in the atmosphere.
The flaming rock did not hit the ground, he said, meaning it was a meteor as opposed to a meteorite.
Spotting a daylight meteor is considered to be quite rare, due to the
energy required to light up the sky when competing with the sun.
The main difference with night-time meteors, known widely as shooting
stars, is the size. Mr Vlahos said a meteor visible at night could be as
small as a grain of sand or an apple pip.
"For something to be
seen during daylight hours, it's got to be a little bit larger than
that. I'm suggesting it might be about the size of a walnut, up to the
size of a cricket ball."
Mr Vlahos said this meant the skywatchers looking up at the right time on Wednesday were very lucky.
"It is very rare that they saw it. I would say those that did wouldn't see another one in their lifetime," he said. - The Age.
The dash camera footage shows the moment the driver had to hit the brakes, while travelling along the Black Spur in Victoria's north-east
January 18, 2015 - AUSTRALIA - Two drivers travelling along a Victorian highway have narrowly escaped being crushed by seven trees during a wild storm.
Posted under YouTube name Ron Cooper, the dash camera footage shows the
moment he had to hit the brakes just inches away from where the first
tree falls in front of his vehicle.
The driver was travelling
on the Black Spur highway between the towns of Healesville and
Narbethong - north-east of Melbourne, which spans for about 30
kilometres, on December 29 about 2.15pm.
The initial tree fall
is followed by six others, stopping an oncoming car in its tracks who is
also surprised by the sudden road blocks.
The uploader told the Herald Sun
the gum tree was about 30 metres tall and was glad he made the decision
to stop his vehicle rather than to speed up when he noticed the tree
falling.
The incident happened on December 29 about 2.15pm when the first tree fell down, which was about 30 metres tall
About six more trees fell down after the initial one, stopping an oncoming car in its tracks
Wind speeds in the area the driver was travelling in got up to more than 80 km/h on December 29, according Bureau of Meteorology
'These trees started falling like a deck of cards,' he said.
'One more second - in fact even part of a second - would have put me either under the tree or into the tree.
'I'm always aware of what's around me and I think it paid off that day.'
In the lead up to the video, leaves and branches can been seen falling
in the vehicle's way as the driver makes his way along the road at Watts
River Bridge.
WATCH: Amazing footage shows strong winds topple trees in Australia.
He said he wanted to upload the video to YouTube to teach people about the dangers of driving during wild weather.
'One tree coming down is one thing but when you have like a dozen it's unheard of I think in one small area,' the driver said.
'I just want people worldwide - not just in Australia - to be aware of trees.'
On the video, the driver added the video served as 'a great educational
video showing the dangers of traveling in the bush during periods of
high wind'.
Wind speeds in the area the driver was travelling in got up to more than 80 km/h on December 29, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.Daily Mail.
An out-of-control fire has been raging in Victoria's west, threatening the lives of Moyston, Rocky Point and Willaura North residents, while emergency warnings have also been issued for fires in the Adelaide Hills and South East.
January 3, 2014 - AUSTRALIA- Firefighters are battling out-of-control bushfires threatening homes in South Australia and Victoria.
Police have declared a major emergency and told residents that their lives are at risk.
South Australia's fire chief said the blazes in the Adelaide Hills, northeast of Adelaide city, were the worst since the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983.
WATCH: One resident described the sound of the bushfires like the "roar of a jet engine"
Those fires left 75 people dead and caused devastation across parts of Victoria and South Australia.
"At the moment, we have a fire which is extremely dangerous and it is burning under extremely adverse conditions," South Australia fire chief Greg Nettleton was quoted as saying.
Temperatures soar in south-east Australia
"Right
at this moment, residents in the Adelaide Hills are being confronted by
a fire which hasn't been seen in the hills since the 1983 bushfires of
Ash Wednesday," Mr Nettleton said.
Crews have also been fighting
bushfires in Victoria but all warnings have now been downgraded as a
cold front moves into the area.
Temperatures soar in south-east Australia
"Hopefully tomorrow and the next
few days the fire danger will ease as this cold front passes through
Victoria," a spokesman from the area's fire authority told ABC news. 'Incredibly scary'
So far about five homes have been confirmed destroyed but authorities said that dozens more were feared lost.
South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill urged residents in the areas at risk to leave immediately or prepare to stay and defend their homes.
"If you have decided to stay the fire could become incredibly scary and it could make you change your mind and leave.
Dozens of dogs and cats were killed after fire destroyed a kennel and cattery in the Adelaide Hills
Residents of Moyston in Victoria's west were told earlier that it was
too late to leave as firefighters battled an out-of-control blaze
pushing towards their town, with nearby Maroona also threatened.
High temperatures and strong winds have hampered firefighters' attempts to battle the blazes
Residents were told to leave immediately
"It could be a catastrophic decision to leave late."
So far these are the biggest bushfires of the Australian summer, reports the BBC's Jon Donnison in Sydney.
Australia faces such fires every year but environmentalists say global warning is making their occurrence more frequent.
November 4, 2014 - VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA - Victorians have been treated to what appears to be a rare cloud formation known as a Fallstreak Hole.
The formation was spotted in the Gippsland area, in the state's east, about 1:00pm on Monday.
The
Fallstreak Hole, or hole punch cloud, occurs when part of a cloud's
water droplets freeze into ice crystals and fall below the cloud layer,
according to the Cloud Appreciation Society.
A fallstreak hole, also known as a hole punch cloud, punch hole cloud, skypunch, canal cloud or cloud hole, is a large circular or elliptical gap that can appear in cirrocumulus or altocumulusclouds.
Such holes are formed when the water temperature in the clouds is below
freezing but the water has not frozen yet due to the lack of ice nucleation particles (see supercooled water). When ice crystals do form it will set off a domino effect, due to the Bergeron process, causing the water droplets around the crystals to evaporate: this leaves a large, often circular, hole in the cloud.
It
is believed that the introduction of large numbers of tiny ice crystals
into the cloud layer sets off this domino effect of evaporation which
creates the hole. The ice crystals can be formed by passing aircraft
which often have a large reduction in pressure behind the wing- or
propellor-tips. This cools the air very quickly, and can produce a
ribbon of ice crystals trailing in the aircraft's wake.
These ice
crystals find themselves surrounded by droplets, grow quickly by the
Bergeron process, causing the droplets to evaporate and creating a hole
with brush-like streaks of ice crystals below it. The articles by
Westbrook and Davies (2010) and Heymsfield et al. (2010) explain
the process in more detail, and show some observations of their
microphysics and dynamics. Such clouds are not unique to any one
geographic area and have been photographed from many places.
Because
of their rarity and unusual appearance, as well as very little exposure
in media, fallstreak holes are often mistaken for or attributed to unidentified flying objects. - Wikipedia.
November 2, 2014 - AUSTRALIA
- A firefighter has been killed and at least two homes have been
destroyed by Australian spring wildfires, officials said Saturday.
The 38-year-old volunteer firefighter was severely burned Friday while
battling a blaze on a farm near the town of Nantawarra in South
Australia state, state Country Fire Service chief officer Greg Nettleton
said. The fire was later contained.
At least two homes were
razed by wildfires Saturday on the outskirts of the town of Katoomba in
the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, in New South Wales state, state Rural
Fire Service Inspector Ben Shepherd said.
The service's deputy
commissioner, Bob Rogers, said firefighters had battled to protect
homes in Katoomba from flames fanned by winds of 80 kilometers (50
miles) per hour.
"There'll be a lot of work to clean up this fire in days to come," Rogers told Nine Network television news.
By late Saturday, the winds had dropped off and the danger posed by the
fire had decreased, although the blaze remained out of control,
Shepherd said, adding that the damage was being assessed.
WATCH: Australia wildfires.
Around 70 wildfires were blazing across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, on Saturday, Shepherd said.
Destructive wildfires are common in much of Australia during the spring and summer months.
More than 200 homes were destroyed by wildfires in the Blue Mountains
last spring during a particularly devastating start to the wildfire
season. - AP.
June 23, 2014 - AUSTRALIA - South Australia is bracing for more wild weather after thousands of
properties were left without power due to strong wind and rain.
A fallen tree blocks the road at Ironbank in the Adelaide Hills. Photograph: Sturt SES unit/ABC News
The State Emergency Service has responded to more than 170 incidents in
South Australia after the state was buffeted by wind of more than
90km/h.
Trees and power lines were brought down, with the SES reporting
incidents of roof tiles being ripped away and driveways being blocked by
debris. The SES advised that people should stay indoors, away from
windows, during high winds.
Around 6,000 premises were left without power in South Australia on
Monday, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning that the extreme weather
would continue for a further day.
Driving conditions will be dangerous until late on
Tuesday, requiring people to be careful on the roads, according to the
BoM.
The BoM said a deep low pressure which gathered over the Bass Strait was
to blame for the weather, with rain, thunderstorms and hail set to
batter South Australia on Tuesday. Winds of 93km/h have been recorded at
Adelaide airport, with Hindmarsh Island hit by gusts of 98km/h.
"Further damaging wind gusts in excess of 90km/h are likely over the
warning area today and are expected to continue overnight," the BoM
advised on Monday. "Damaging wind gusts are most likely to be associated
with showers and thunderstorms."
The severe conditions have also reached into Victoria, with the SES
recording more than 30 calls for help, mostly for fallen trees.
Rain lashed Melbourne for much of Monday, while wind reaching 128km/h, recorded at Mt William in the Grampians, swept the state.
Winds of up to 125 km/h are expected for higher ground and coastal areas
on Tuesday morning, according to the BoM. The SES has urged people to
move vehicles away from trees and to keep clear of fallen power lines.
- Guardian.
March 05, 2014 - AUSTRALIA - Towering flames reach to the sky in a spectacular scene that resembles a volcano eruption as a wall of fire rages at an Australian coal mine.
Engulfed: These pictures shot by the fire service show staggering scenes
at Morwell, Victoria, where Australian firefighters have been battling
for three weeks to put out a fire which has engulfed the coalmine.
Wall of fire: Coalmine in Morwell, Victoria, Australia has been on fire
for almost three
weeks after an arsonist lit bushfire that spread.
Dramatic photographs have emerged of an out-of-control fire at Hazelwood open-cut coal mine, which has left the Victorian town of Morwell exposed to smoke and ash.
The fire is burning over 400 hectares of land, with flames reaching between 20 and 50 metres high.
Sick and elderly people are being urged to leave the town, amid mounting concern over the health risks associated with rising carbon monoxide levels.
The Government is expected to make an announcement today on the recommended course of action for thousands of residents in Victoria's LaTrobe Valley who have been enveloped by a thick, smokey haze for the past three weeks after the coal mine blaze broke out.
Flare up: Firefighters work through the night to battle a blaze that
continues to burn
at Hazelwood coalmine at Morwell, Victoria, in
Australia.
Health risk: Smoke from the fire is causing rising levels of carbon monoxide for nearby residents in the town of Morwell.
Fresh fears of potential landslides have emerged, as firefighters pour tens of thousands of water on the out-of-control fire at the mine pit.
While firefighters do their best to contain the blaze, there are new concerns that the mine's walls may not be structurally sound with cracks opening up along the mine's southern walls.
WATCH: Town choked by coal mine fire that could burn for months.
Vulnerable people such as the elderly, young children, pregnant women and anyone with respiratory conditions are being urged to leave the area.
Emergency officials says that although an evacuation has not been declared, they are recommending people leave the area if they are affected by the smoke.
On February 9 an arsonist lit a bushfire that spread to the site in Morwell, Victoria, leaving Hazelwood open-cut mine ablaze. Coal mine fires like this one are particularly hard to put out because they are difficult for firefighters to access underground.
Douse the flames: Fire crews watch on as helicopters are deployed to battle the fire from above.
Broader view: Fire smoulders at Hazelwood coal mine in Victoria, where
firefighters
have been battling the blaze for close to three weeks.
Even if the fire looks extinguished it keeps smouldering. A mine spokesperson told MiningAustralia.com.au: ‘You can drop a bucket of water over it and it looks like the fire is out, but it will come back as a smouldering fire.’
Morwell, a town 150km east of Melbourne, is touted by tourism agencies as ‘Victoria’s energy centre’.
The town's 14,000 residents are worried about the long-term health risks associated with exposure to smoke, even though health officials say there is no risk.
‘We are in the dark, we don't know what's going on,’ one resident told ABC.
Authorities say the ‘best case scenario’ would see the fire extinguished in 14 days but concede it could take months.
And police are still hunting for the arsonist who they say has ‘knowledge of fire behaviour’ amid fears the perpetrator could strike again.
Detective Sen-Constable Jason Benbow said police were focusing on arsonists who had struck before, The Herald Sun reported.
'We think someone with local knowledge is behind this, and definitely a knowledge of fire behaviour.
‘This fire has caused millions and millions dollars of damage, not to mention the health effects it has caused, plus the possibility of the power station going down.’
Wide angle: Smoke drifts over the Hazelwood coal mine, causing a health hazard to the nearby community.
The fire could take months to extinguish because coalmine fires are hard to access and keep smouldering.
Cracks in the earth reveal exposed coal seam burning underground.
Victoria's chief health officer Rosemary Lester said an evacuation plan had been prepared but it was not yet necessary to carry out.
‘We've been keeping a very close eye on the carbon monoxide and that has not been a level of concern, which is good,’ she said.
About 25,000 face masks have been given to residents, Vice reported.
Residents are gathering evidence in order to launch a possible class action against the owners of the mine.
Local protest organiser Nerissa Albon said: ‘We're going to collect data to find out whose businesses are suffering and what are the health issues.
‘They're scared, they're starting to get annoyed now.... nobody can say when it's going to finish, it could go on for months. They would want compensation.’ - Daily Mail.
Australia To Get Hotter And Bushfire Season To Last Longer.
Australia will suffer more days of extreme heat and a longer bushfire season as greenhouse gases force temperatures to continue rising, a new report warned yesterday.
The joint study by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Bureau of Meteorology said temperatures across Australia were, on average, almost 1.0 degree Celsius warmer than a century ago.
Seven of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1998 while over the past 15 years the frequency of very hot months has increased five-fold, it said.
The scenario was starkly illustrated in 2013, which was Australia’s hottest year since records began in 1910 and included a prolonged national heatwave.
Megan Clark, chief executive of the CSIRO, Australia’s peak science body, said the country has warmed in every state and territory and in every season.
“Australia has one of the most variable climates in the world. Against this backdrop, across the decades, we’re continuing to see increasing temperatures, warmer oceans, changes to when and where rain falls and higher sea levels,” Clark said.
“The sea-surface temperatures have warmed by 0.9 C since 1900 and greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise.” Australia is routinely hit by bushfires during its December-February summer months, with hot windy conditions again fanning hundreds of blazes this season with dozens of homes destroyed.
The report said it would only get worse.
“A further increase in the number of extreme fire-weather days is expected in southern and eastern Australia, with a longer fire season in these regions,” it said of areas devastated by fires this year.
It also forecast less rainfall in southern Australia and more severe droughts in a grim warning for farmers. The report, released every two years, added that tropical cyclones were projected to decrease in number but increase in intensity, while rising seas levels would cause more problems for coastal dwellers.
The report said Australian temperatures could rise by 1.0 to 2.5 C by 2070, compared to 1980 to 1999, depending on the level of greenhouse gas emissions.
While cutting global emissions would be crucial to preventing the worst global warming has in store, that alone would not be enough, the agencies warned.
“Adaptation is required because some warming and associated changes are unavoidable,” it said.
Neville Nicholls, a professor at the School of Geography Environmental Science at Monash University, said Australia was already working to deal with climate change on a practical level.
“Luckily, we have started to adapt to these risks,” he said.
“Heat alert systems in many cities across the world, including Australia, are starting to reduce some of the impacts of severe heat events. And governments, fire services, and bureaucrats have worked to improve the way we prepare for and deal with bushfires; this is an effective climate change adaptation, even if it was not done specifically in response to the climate-driven increased risk.”
Jim Salinger , a climate scientist at the University of Auckland, predicted that the growing heat risks in Australia would see more people moving to the cooler climate of neighbouring New Zealand. - Borneo Post.
February 10, 2014 - AUSTRALIA - Wildfires have destroyed at least 20 homes in Australia's Victoria state in what officials say are the worst fire conditions since a 2009 inferno killed 173 people.
Hundreds of people spent the night in shelters after being forced to flee their homes [EPA]
Officials cited by the AFP news agency said on Monday that the fires were threatening the country's second-largest city, Melbourne.
"They were ferocious fires, they ran hard, they hit homes," Craig Lapsley, a fire commissioner, said.
The emergency comes almost exactly five years after the "Black Saturday" firestorm devastated the state, flattening whole towns. That inferno was Australia's deadliest natural disaster of the modern era.
"At this stage we have no evidence of loss of life which is a great effort by the firefighters and all emergency services, and at this stage we have no evidence of serious injury. That's first and foremost our priority - protection of life," said Dennis Napthine, Victoria state premier.
Fire crews said they saved about 550 properties from an intense blaze at suburban Keilor, near Melbourne's airport.
Fire fighting hampered
"It was very hard for us to initially get that fire to stop due to the fact that the winds were blowing up towards the airport," said Rob Purcell from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.
Four blazes remained at emergency level on Monday including a 40km front on the outskirts of Melbourne, with
tens of thousands of hectares burnt.
Hundreds of people spent the night in shelters after being forced to flee their homes.
One man told the ABC that fast-moving flames had cut off his evacuation route, forcing him to stay and defend his property near Forbes, north of Melbourne.
"Amazing how fast it come up the gully and how big the fire front was. It was a massive wall of fire," said the man, who identified himself only as Peter.
The fire threat was expected to ease in many areas as cooler temperatures arrive from the south on Monday.
Vast wildfires are common in Australia's December-February summer months. - Al Jazeera.
January 28, 2014 - AUSTRALIA - Beachgoers are being driven from the sand by a population explosion of biting insects.
An Australian sand fly.
Source: Supplied
Experts say sand flies, technically called biting midges, speed up their reproductive cycle when temperatures soar, as they did during last week's record heatwave.
As Victorians flocked to the beach to seek relief from the sweltering conditions, many retreated from the foreshore after coming under attack.
Lorne woman Sidonie Moore said she lasted 30 seconds on the beach before the barrage of bites became unbearable.
"It was awful, I have a very low tolerance for those things," Ms Moore said.
One Torquay severely bitten beachgoer said the marks on his body made it appear as if he had "plague".
Lorne Surf Life Saving Club captain Jeremy Walker said a lot more people than usual received treatment for sand fly bites last week when the mercury climbed to 44C in Melbourne. "A once-in-a-lifetime event will do that," he said.
Sue, from Torquay Pharmacy, who did not want to give her surname, said a lot of people with insect bites came through her shop during last week's heatwave.
"They weren't all necessarily sand flies, but last week with the heat, there were plenty of insects on the beach," she said.
"Every night people came in with bites."
Senior curator of entomology at Melbourne Museum Dr Ken Walker said the recent heatwave would have caused a "population explosion" of millions of biting midges.
"With 30 to 50 eggs per female, the population can build up exponentially in hot weather," Dr Walker said.
"And they're very happy all of us humans are going down to the beach to provide them with a blood meal."
Dr Walker said the tiny black bugs, 50 to 100 times smaller than a March fly, have a lifespan of just a couple of days, and bred anywhere there was seawater and tidal movement.
The females required a blood meal to give their eggs protein.
"By the time you see them, they're normally biting you," Dr Walker said.
They used "stylet-like" mouth parts, resembling a serrated knife, to jab their human hosts, he said.
CV OF A PEST
* Sand flies are technically known as biting midges in Australia. The scientific name is Ceratopogonidae.
* They grow 1-2mm in length and are jet black.
* A single female lays about 50 eggs, half of which are female
* Only the females suck blood to get protein to mature their eggs; males feed on nectar
* Their reproductive cycle increases during periods of extreme heat
* They breed between the low and high tide mark in seawater and prefer calmer water.
* They can be found on all Australian beaches
