Australia burns. (1 Viewer)

[waynepoo]

Words can't truly describe what is now happening in my homeland so I post these photos which speak for themselves.

Mallacoota Victoria. New Years Eve morning.

​

 

[waynepoo]

Wayne.[SUB][/SUB]​

 

[zblang]

I’ve been reading about it. It is absolutely terrible! For whatever good it does, I’m praying for all of you!

 

[Terp152]

Had not realized the extent of the fires. Terrible to see. Hope you are safe. Chris

 

[Horus]

They're truly terrible statistics Wayne along the figures they're coming out with for the loss of wildlife.
Can only imagine the the suffering being endured by all those effected and praise valour of the emergency services.

Steve

 

[nysoldiers]

My sympathies to those affected by these terrible fires.
I have been studying "global warming" and pollution for almost 40 years. Its real and the science is irrefutable but many
world leaders and politicians refuse to acknowledge it and take action. Unfortunately we will see more of these tragedies unfold
until the world makes a unified effort to confront the problem and be prepared for the consequences.
Thoughts and prayers won't help, lobby your governments and start practicing environmentally friendly behavior.
We have been warned!

 

[Desertkiwi]

Thanks for posting all those grim photos etc Wayne mate, the Australian bushfires is big news here in NZ.

To give some of our overseas members some perspective of just how huge this crissis is the smoke from the fires is blowing across the Tasman sea and blanketing many parts of New Zealand and has been for days now.

Absolutely horrendous!

Some of the news appearing here in NZ.


https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/wor...n-victorias-bushfires-state-disaster-declared

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/wor...eratures-forecast-bring-flames-suburbs-sydney

 

[Grognard]

This is indeed a terrible tragedy for both people and animals (I read somewhere that millions of animals have died so far). My thoughts are with our Australian friends. On our local news today, they announced that Washington State is sending a contingent of our forest firefighters to help.

 

[Northgate Woods]

AUSTRALIA HAS ITS OWN DUNKIRK.
These 4,000 residents and holidaymakers, as shown in the photo, are trapped on the beaches at the seaside town of Mallacotta in Victoria. The town is surrounded by fires, houses burning and roads have all been cut. The Navy has been mobilized and two RAN ships are evacuating them by landing craft. Some were rescued by Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters before the skies became so smoke filled that they were unable to fly.



Our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow Aussies. I have tried to contact as many of my fellow collectors in these fire torn areas as possible. Most have reported that they have no loss of lives but some have lost their homes and TS collections.

Howard

 

[ccdc11]

I was thinking of all you guys down under when this started. I hope you all stay safe.

 

[mikemiller1955]

absolutely horrific!
hope this is taken care of soon...

God Bless Australia...

 

[marco55]

Wishing the best for the people (and animals) of Australia. I just heard on the news that the temps are rising even higher.
Mark

 

[waynepoo]

Wishing the best for the people (and animals) of Australia. I just heard on the news that the temps are rising even higher.
Mark

Indeed, Australia recorded the highest three temps in the world on Saturday with 48.9 in western Sydney being number one! The bitumen on some roads melted it was reported.

 

[Larry Allen]

My family and I wish, hope and pray that the terrible situation in Australia soons start to improve.
My mind cannot comprehend what those conditions must be like. In Maine we are very much aware of the danger of a fire and sympathize with each and every person.

Australia STRONG!!

--- LaRRy

 

[PolarBear]

Horrific in every way. Looks like Armageddon.
Painful to see the horrors being endured by the people and animals of Australia.
I fear that this will eventually become a global phenomenon.
Randy

 

[Terp152]

Just saw a report of 500,000 animals perished. Hard to comprehend. Chris

 

[tank]

Just saw a report of 500,000 animals perished. Hard to comprehend. Chris

To be honest it is looks like a horror movie.

Here is the pic of the sky in Auckland. NZ. 5/01/2020

 

[sapper]

Unfortunately that animal death estimate would be grossly understated. Knowing the Australian bush, the animals that live in the trees and on the ground would have had little chance with the immensity of the fires. Some kangaroos might have been able to escape if they were able to go the right way but even the domestic animals will number in the hundreds of thousands. Tragically the human losses and properties lost can never be forgotten. Greg.

 

[tank]

Unfortunately that animal death estimate would be grossly understated. Knowing the Australian bush, the animals that live in the trees and on the ground would have had little chance with the immensity of the fires. Some kangaroos might have been able to escape if they were able to go the right way but even the domestic animals will number in the hundreds of thousands. Tragically the human losses and properties lost can never be forgotten. Greg.

Why the Australian Goverment doesn’t do anything to stop the fire?
Why they don’t want any help.

2009. Victorian disastrous fires, which cost 173 lives.


AS BUSHFIRES consumed Victorian lives, forests, homes and townships in February, the Russian Government offered to send two of the world's biggest and most advanced waterbombers to the battle.

Each of the giant Ilyushin-76 jets could drop in a single pass 42,000 litres of water or retardant on a fire - almost five times the maximum capacity of the ''Elvis'' skycrane helicopters.

The IL-76 waterbombers were developed to fight wildfires in remote areas of Russia such as Siberia, but have been used to fight major fires in Greece, Portugal and Yugoslavia.


Their two large water tanks are capable of being filled in 10 to 12 minutes and can be dumped in a single burst, producing a downpour akin to heavy rain over an area 550 metres long by 100 metres wide. If the tanks are emptied sequentially, the saturated area extends to 900 metres by 65 metres.

In a letter submitted to the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission last week, the Russian ambassador to Australia, Alexander Blokhin, said experts from the Russian Ministry of Emergencies estimated that two such aircraft ''would have been enough to cope with the firefighting task near Melbourne in February 2009''.

He also stated that a smaller, Russian-built firefighting jet, the amphibian Beriev BE-200, which can scoop 9000 litres of water from the sea - even with waves of up to 1.5 metres running - could have stopped the East Kilmore fire ''in one or two hours if the firefighting operation started in due time''.

The Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter.


A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Canberra, Yaroslav Eremin, told The Age that the aircraft - part of a purpose-built fleet on standby in Russia to fight fires anywhere in the world - could have been in Australia within two days. They were not being used, because the northern hemisphere was in winter while Victoria burnt.

He said the offer was made through diplomatic channels directly from the Russian Government to the Australian Government. But the response from Australia, which he said ''took some time'' was that the planes were not required.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/russian-offer-of-fire-jets-rejected-20091020-h6xt.html

Seriously.

 

[paxtoysoldier]

Why the Australian Goverment doesn’t do anything to stop the fire?
Why they don’t want any help.

2009. Victorian disastrous fires, which cost 173 lives.


AS BUSHFIRES consumed Victorian lives, forests, homes and townships in February, the Russian Government offered to send two of the world's biggest and most advanced waterbombers to the battle.

Each of the giant Ilyushin-76 jets could drop in a single pass 42,000 litres of water or retardant on a fire - almost five times the maximum capacity of the ''Elvis'' skycrane helicopters.

The IL-76 waterbombers were developed to fight wildfires in remote areas of Russia such as Siberia, but have been used to fight major fires in Greece, Portugal and Yugoslavia.


Their two large water tanks are capable of being filled in 10 to 12 minutes and can be dumped in a single burst, producing a downpour akin to heavy rain over an area 550 metres long by 100 metres wide. If the tanks are emptied sequentially, the saturated area extends to 900 metres by 65 metres.

In a letter submitted to the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission last week, the Russian ambassador to Australia, Alexander Blokhin, said experts from the Russian Ministry of Emergencies estimated that two such aircraft ''would have been enough to cope with the firefighting task near Melbourne in February 2009''.

He also stated that a smaller, Russian-built firefighting jet, the amphibian Beriev BE-200, which can scoop 9000 litres of water from the sea - even with waves of up to 1.5 metres running - could have stopped the East Kilmore fire ''in one or two hours if the firefighting operation started in due time''.

The Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter.


A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Canberra, Yaroslav Eremin, told The Age that the aircraft - part of a purpose-built fleet on standby in Russia to fight fires anywhere in the world - could have been in Australia within two days. They were not being used, because the northern hemisphere was in winter while Victoria burnt.

He said the offer was made through diplomatic channels directly from the Russian Government to the Australian Government. But the response from Australia, which he said ''took some time'' was that the planes were not required.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/russian-offer-of-fire-jets-rejected-20091020-h6xt.html

Seriously.

Maybe you should donate to people who are really helping rather than turning a tragedy into Mr. Chekhov's History lesson. Have a heart, it's good for you!