I've been away from home for 24 hours and return home to reports of utter devastation coming from the other side of the country. HUGE bushfires rage on over there, and they are destroying all in their path. So far the toll of lost homes stands at 640, and deaths at 49... and it is only early days - the toll is expected to go much, much higher. Towns have been literally wiped off the face of the planet - and still authorities have been unable to reach them to assess the damage due to cut roads and little or no access. These numbers could simply be the tip of the iceburg.
TV transmission and telephone access has been cut in some areas, so residents are having to rely upon the radio in order to get any sort of indication of what might be happening around them. Harrowing stories are starting to emerge and the major hospitals in Melbourne are starting to treat dozens of seriously injured and burned.
To the hundreds (if not thousands) of unpaid volunteers fighting the fires, some having lost family members and their homes - my heart and thoughts go out to you. Laying your life on the line for your neighbours, colleagues, friends, family and complete strangers - asking nothing in return, has my respect and admiration, and the enduring gratitude of an entire nation.
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4 comments:
My prayers are with you, love. Are you alright? Keep us posted.
well said clare, i can hardly stand to watch the news - have never known anything like it in my 34 years in oz - it looks like the whole state is burning. so sad. so tragic ... and some scum deliberately lit some of the fires? it's beyond my comprehension.
i am heartsick...
I wish I could pick up all the snow in Canada right now and dump over the parts of Oz that need it the most. This is so sad. I remember vividly landing in Sydney a few years ago when they were having some crazy fires at the time, I have pictures of Bondi Beach trenched in smoke. That fire was also deliberately set by some teenage punks...The fire fighters and safety folk certainly have their work cut out for them. I hope things get under control sooner then later!
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