I was keen to tell you guys what Mark and I got up to yesterday afternoon but the Victorian bush fires and with the death toll at 170 I thought out of respect I’d write a post about the fires.
It has put a somber mood on the entire place – when I was picked up at the airport on Sunday morning the death toll was 12 and ever since then it seems to jump everytime I hear the news. In discussions with Mark and his friends none of us can grasp at just how fast the fire front was moving in order to catch all these people.
Here are some fotos that I’ve gathered which made me sit back and say ‘HOLY SHIT’!!!
The news here hasn’t shown maps of where these places are and Google Earth gives a real picture of just how much bush is around these towns and how isolated they are. If you are interested search in Google Earth for….
- Marysville, Victoria
- Kingslake, Victoria
On a happier note – today I’m off north up the coast to stay with some friends. They live near the beach at a place called Avoca Beach.
This final foto is obviosuly from satellite. Melbourne (Australia’s 2nd largest city) is hidden by the clouds on the lower left part of the image (left of the smoke trail).
It’s a sad situation in Victoria and it’s being given a good amount of coverage on CBC and CBC Newsworld.
It’s such a terrible thing to happen to anyone–let alone thousands in Victoria. A pressing need for water in Victoria and too much water in Queensland.
Not a happy thing to go home to.
wow, looks crazy! HOLY shit!
The tv shows horrific scenes and very sad what is happening in Victoria, and sadder still can not help at all!
I was very dismayed to hear of all this…nowhere near as much as those who have lost loved ones, or their homes and livelihoods in all of this mess, I’m certain, but anyway, my heart does go out to everyone there.
I hope that things will die down flames-wise soon. If it’s not floods in one part of the world, it’s fires in another…