Sunday, January 06, 2013

Fires



Just a quick post about the bushfires in Southeast Tasmania. We are fine and everyone we know in the affected areas are OK. Hobart had a record high temperature of 42°C on Friday, high winds and inevitably when fires started they were impossible to control. So far about 100 homes have been destroyed and thousands of people have been evacuated.

Some people are yet to be located but so far there are no confirmed fatalities, and I have not heard of any serious injuries. That's a testament to an amazing effort from the fire service, other emergency services and a huge flotilla of volunteer boats who ferried people away from the stricken areas when the roads were impassable.

On a world scale I know this is a very minor natural disaster, but if anyone felt they wanted to help out, there is an online appeal for donations here - scroll down to South Eastern Tasmania Bushfire Appeal.


2 comments:

Wendy said...

Glad to hear you are okay. Anytime you have something sweep through a community it's "huge" -- forget what happens anywhere else in the world.

A few years ago we had a tornado come through our area and while we were all reeling at the devastation, I found it to be simultaneously one of the more profound and satisfying things I've experienced as we all saw the community rally together to health and recover.

I hope yours does the same. Our thoughts are with all of you!

Chris Rees said...

Thanks Wendy. Yes, there is an amazing volunteer effort underway, with boats going down to the isolated communities loaded up with generators and fuel, donated food and clothes and water. Still no bodies have been found, so fingers crossed. Thanks for thinking of us.