Devestation
As of this writing, there are 84 confirmed deaths in the Australian state of Victoria where massive bushfires have been raging for days. As crews are able to get back into areas that were inaccessible, that number is expected to rise. It is now officially the worse bushfire disaster in Australian history, easily surpassing the 75 killed in the notorious Ash Wednesday fires in 1983.
You can read all about it here, or the news source of your choice.
For those totally unfamiliar with Australian geography, I am nowhere near this area and so am fine.
I am, however, feeling overwhelmed and immensely saddened by it all. How does this sort of thing happen? Some fires may have been deliberately set. If that's true and people died as a result, no punishment is too harsh. I'm not certain I believe in a God anymore - and an event like this where innocent people died what had to be a horrible death is just another nail in my belief coffin, as it were.
But what an event of this scope does do is make me aware that a lot of my complaints are just plain petty and not worth very much in the grand scheme of things. I'm still here, my family is still here and we're healthy and safe. Really, everything else is a bonus that I should be thankful for.
Let's hope it will be over soon without further loss of life.
UPDATE: The Courier Mail is reporting the death toll has increased to 108 as of 7am Monday.
6 Witty Remarks:
I have been reading about the fires and also about some severe flooding going on in Southeast Queensland. It is tragic and disheartening to think that some of the fires were deliberately set.
It does make you more thankful for the things you have.
The flooding is in North Queensland - if it was SE Queensland I'd be underwater! To see the pictures from NQ is to be humbled by nature - no man-made flooding there. Not only are they flooded, but there are crocs in the floodwaters in the towns. Like they don't have enough to worry about.
One of the pictures I saw showed some tourists sloshing through the flood water along the coast - we were there and I remember the Beware of Crocodile signs. Somehow I can't picture myself braving that.
Glad you guys are not near either disaster.
So many very sad stories coming out of these fires. My heart goes out to all affected.
We had small fires going through our neighbourhood 2 years ago and we had the car packed and ready to go. It was scary as hell but that was only small. I can't even begin to comprehend how scared those guys in NSW and Victoria must be because the fire fronts run for miles upon miles and everything is just so dry it's like tinder.
Poor bastards....
As to the floods up north, my Nanna was holed up in her unit for a few nights with water all around her but thankfully none of it came into the house.
Amazingly only a few drownings and one 5 year old kid taken by a croc (as he was allowed to bodyboard in a swollen river, in the middle of croc breeding season...what the hell!?). However, saying only a "FEW" drownings is of no comfort to those who have lost loved ones.
Here's hoping no mores lives are lost in either of these tragedies, but I fear the real death toll of the fires will be several hundred. Tragic.
I saw it on the news here this morning. So horrible.
Such a tragedy, I can't imagine. I'm glad you are not in the path. I hear the toll is over 200 now. Prayers are with you.
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