[Ailist] Off Topic - Victorian bushfire update [long post]

Fri Feb 13 06:57:56 MST 2009

Sue,
Your post is especially inspiring--that in the midst of such crisis, the
human spirit comes alive once again. It is as if we wake up from a fog and
recognize who we truly are.  What would make it possible for that capacity
to sustain--not necessarily 100% of the time, but to sustain even in
ordinary times.  How can we stay awake...and fearless?

Thank you for taking the time to send us such "whole" news. What would
happen if all news were reported with such incredible balance--perhaps that
might help us to stay awake.

You are loved,
Cheri

On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 10:07 PM, Sue James <mail at bjseminars.com.au> wrote:

> Hello everyone ...
>
> First of all, I'd like to express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitute
> to all those who have replied to my original post privately. I have answered
> those emails individually, but would like to say a very public thank you!
>
> Secondly, there have been some common questions people have asked, so I
> thought I'd send an update for everyone, in case others are also interested.
>
> One question related to why there were so many deaths. The current official
> death toll is 181, and it's expected to climb much higher - possibly to 300.
> This is a devastating count for areas with such a sparse population. For
> example, one of the places destroyed by fire is a small country town called
> Strathewen, where 30 people are confirmed dead from a population of only
> 200. When you think about it, this is the equivalent of one person dead out
> of every 6 or 7 who were living in your community - a devastating figure. In
> addition to the death toll, there are many more who are injured and at least
> 5,000 people left homeless.
>
> Why did this happen?  The main reason was apparently the incredible
> severity of the weather conditions, particularly after such a long period of
> drought/dry weather. The fires were therefore worse than has ever been
> experienced before - here in Victoria and possibly in Australia.
> At one point strong winds were driving flames, which were more than 20
> metres high, almost parallel to the ground at unprecendented speeds. A kind
> of 'cosmic flamethrower' effect, that simply consumed everything in its path
> more quickly than mere human efforts could prevent.
>
> Victoria has had a 'leave early or stay and defend' policy in relation to
> bushfires - which has served well on previous occasions. In other words,
> either leave your home well in advance of the fire threat, or stay and
> defend your home with all the fire-safety and fighting methods recommended.
> For example, hosing down the whole house, blocking all downpipes and filling
> the gutters with water, having a safe area within the house - and of course
> being sure in the off season that the area surrounding your home is clear of
> all trees and undergrowth etc. And there are lots more steps to take than I
> am aware of, as I'm not one of the highest bushfire danger areas myself so
> don't receive all the information and advice from the authorities that
> people living in those areas receive.
>
> However this time all the very best precautions were apparently no match
> for the very extreme weather conditions and the ferocity of the fires.
> People who have survived speak of 'fireballs' consuming their homes. Many
> who stayed to defend - and have done so successfully in previous bushfires -
> finally had to flee. And of course that is one of the most dangerous things
> to do when fires are raging around you.  This has been one of the reasons
> for the policy to leave early or stay and defend ...being in a car on a road
> during a bushfire is so incredibly risky. Many of those who perished were in
> their cars - forced to flee at the last moments, after their efforts to
> prevent the fires consuming their homes had failed. Authorities also believe
> that some of the people found as passengers in cars had been picked up by
> others who were also fleeing. They had probably been in one of the cars that
> were found to have run off the road (probably due to the thick smoke), or
> had caught fire in turn. (So some of the bodies my not be identified, as
> those people were not in their homes and not in their own vehicles. )
>
> So, as you may imagine, there will be a review of the "leave early or stay
> and defend" policy, in the light of the climate changes that are apparently
> affecting the nature of the bushfires themselves. There is to be state
> government commission enquiry into the bushfires, investigating many aspects
> of how Victoria will deal with bushfire prevention, action and response etc.
> It's anticipated this will be a twelve-month process overall.
>
> Another question people have asked is "apart from our prayers, how can we
> help?"   There is already a great deal of help coming into Victoria from
> governments in other states in Australia, and from elsewhere (for example
> President Obama's commitment of support.
> So far the main call has been for blood donations and donations of
> clothing, food, tents etc - all those things required to respond to the
> immediate and urgent needs of those who are injured and homeless. For those
> not in Australia, this kind of support is not very practical ... unless you
> want to fly down to our Red Cross blood donation centres or commission a
> freighter to cart goods around the world. :-)
> However I do know that any amount of money that can donated, however small,
> can definitely help.  I've called the Australian Red Cross, who are handling
> the main Victorian Bushfire Appeal, and have been told that their online
> donation form will accept international credit card donations, although
> there is no specific information to say so on their website.  The link for
> those who may be interested is
> https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp
>
> Although all the above information may seem incredibly downbeat, there is
> as always an 'up side', even in the midst of such devastating losses.  Along
> with stories of devastation and loss, there are stories of resilience, hope
> etc ... And a post to the AI list wouldn't be complete without sharing some
> of these too. :-) So I thought I'd share a few stories that possibly haven't
> made it into the international media.
>
> For example, the story of Sherrill and Bill Cart, who were reunited in the
> burns unit of a hospital:   http://tinyurl.com/cat6cf <
> http://tinyurl.com/cat6cf>
>
> Or Rodney and Leila Pitt-Wood , also reunited when each had thought the
> other had perished in the fires: http://tinyurl.com/b5n2xb
> Rodney's comment at the end of that article is also a wonderful testament
> to the resilience of the human spirit: "I think you've got to get over that.
> We've been scared, but it's like everything else, don't let it beat ya." :-)
>
> As you may know, parts of Queensland have been very badly flooded - in some
> areas, they had only just cleaned up after one major flood when the copped
> another. Many families lost many of their possessions and furniture -
> everything that was downstairs in some cases. Families are crowding into
> flood relief centres to get help with clothing, food etc. How is this
> related to a bushfire story? Because so many of those receiving government
> flood relief funding are immediately donating it to the Victorian Bushfire
> Appeal!  As one woman said in an interview, "Ok, we've lost a lot of stuff
> ... but it's just 'stuff'. Those poor buggers down there have lost their
> homes, their friends. At least we're all ok and we still have a house."
>
> And here's an amazing story about Daniel Moss, whose home was a caravan -
> and who has now donated that home to a family who lost theirs in Flowerdale
> (another township that no longer exists apart from the local hall and school
> which survived.). Daniel is now homeless himself, but figures it will be
> much easier for him than for a family.  http://tinyurl.com/c9h9en
>
> Daniel said ... "I had Mental Health come up to me, saying that I might
> need some help. I don't think it's Mental Health's business. I don't think
> Mental Health need to concern themselves."  And as the newspaper article
> comments: "It's a strange reflection of society when a gesture such as his
> is considered the action of a madman. To Mr Moss, giving away his home was
> the most rational and humane thing he could do."
>
> Last one ... :-) ... Many of you may of course have seen this picture
> (taken by Michael Rebecca) of a firefighter giving a koala a drink, as I
> believe it made it into international news:
> http://www.bjseminars.com.au/images/helpinghand.jpg
> But if you'd like to watch the video of this, you can also visit:
> http://tinyurl.com/bbsck2
>
> And to highlight the amazing nature of that particular story ...  Contrary
> to popular belief, koalas in the wild are not cuddly friendly creatures.
> They will normally fiercely defend themselves against humans, and have
> powerful claws that will take a big chunk out of you if you get too close!
>
> Finally, my apologies for such a long post! But I wanted to provide an
> update for folks, and also share those inspiring and heartwarming stories.
> :-)
>
> Warmly
> Sue
>
>
>
>
> --
> Sue James
> Facilitator & Consultant
> Ph: +613 9758 2528
> BJ Seminars International
> inspiring and connecting people
> www.bjseminars.com.au
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-- 
Cheri B. Torres, Ph.D.
Torres & Associates
Asheville, NC
828-225-5088