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Post by bobby's girl on Feb 9, 2009 13:48:12 GMT 1
No they are in Victoria, I live in Sydney. It is awful. It's the worst ever. If anyone knows Jane Bettison, she lives in Bendigo. There have been fires near there but she and hubby Dave are OK.
We are all watching the TV, and crying for those poor, poor people. It's like a war zone. We've been through areas after a bush fire and it's like a moonscape, but this is just the worst thing. Whole townships have been completely destroyed. Even the Prime Minister and the Victorian Premier, and the journalists are just breaking down. We all feel so helpless.
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Post by Flowerpotty on Feb 10, 2009 11:43:08 GMT 1
We have seen some awful footage on the news Bobby's Girl. It really is the most horrific thing to happen to people.  |
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Post by bobby's girl on Feb 11, 2009 13:09:22 GMT 1
Yes it is heartbreaking. So many people to have died in small communities. Some of the smaller places have lost 25% of their population. NZ and the US are sending relief fire fighters over because the fire fighters have been going non-stop for over a week now. The ones who fight bush fires here are all volunteers. They train in their own time and at their own expense. They leave their work and their businesses at times like this. The things they experience must be similar to what soldiers experience in a war situation. There are going to be some very damaged people when this is all over.
The worst thing is that it was started deliberately. Most of the major bushfires here are started by some lunatic. I wouldn't like to be that person when the police catch up with them. Apparently the police have a good idea of who it was.
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Post by crayford on Feb 12, 2009 12:13:00 GMT 1
Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain.... and more BLOOMIN RAIN!!!!!!!  When is going to be nice and warm and sunny again? Does anyone know? Any weather forecasters out there who can say when this misery will end?   It ain't gonna sunshine until the England football team win something, or the cricket team win the Ashe's, or when the Rugby team, can call them self a team again, Grey sky's are for cast, until then |
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Post by bobby's girl on Feb 12, 2009 12:40:28 GMT 1
The way the Australian cricket team is performing at the moment Britain could well win the next ashes series!!!!
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Post by Flowerpotty on Feb 22, 2009 11:40:56 GMT 1
Oh I do hope so! I was gutted last week when they drew aginst the Windies Have the fires died down now? We havn't heard anything lately on the news. |
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Post by bobby's girl on Feb 22, 2009 13:56:17 GMT 1
No the fires are still raging in Victoria, although it's not making headlines any more here either.
We had a national day of mourning today. There were church services and all the churches that had bells were asked to toll them at 11am. They've found the remains of over 200 people so far, and they still expect to find more. I don't know if this mourning day isn't a bit early. I suppose it's something to find a point where people can start to go forward.
In Sydney our summer has been a non-event. We've had a couple of really horrible days when it's been over 40C but mainly it's been in the high 20sC and either raining, thunderstorms or cloudy but it's like being in a sauna all the time.
The northern parts of NSW and Queensland have had rain and really bad flooding. In fact parts of northern Queensland have been flooded for well over a month, and a lot of communities are isolated by flood waters and are having to have fresh water and other supplies flown in to them, others are in 'refugee centres' like the ones in the fire area, they can't get home because their houses are flooded and look like they will be a for a while yet. It's a bit sad because they've been forgotten because of the bushfires.
I'm glad to say I've never been in a flood or a bushfire but I think of the two the flood isn't as bad. At least the waters subside and even though everything stinks and is spoiled, your home is there, and things can be washed and replaced. I don't know if you've seen what's happened with the bushfires but it's like an atomic bomb has gone off and everything has just turned to dust. There's just nothing recognisable. And for those who died I can't imagine the horror of their last minutes. Most of them were trapped in cars trying to escape, some were in their houses, and some look like they were running in panic into the bush. It reminds you of those pictures you see of Pompeii. The police and rescue services are the ones trying to locate the bodies. That must be a horrible job. Expecially for so many.
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Post by bobby's girl on Feb 23, 2009 3:16:23 GMT 1
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Post by Flowerpotty on Feb 24, 2009 11:41:32 GMT 1
Oh dear, it really is so awful. We havn't heard anything much here, but we did here about the day of mourning. Like you say a horrible task for the folks searching for people. It must have come on so quick if people just couldn't get away in time. It doesn't bare thinking about how horrific it must have been for them in their last moments. To have whole towns wiped out is difficult to comprehend.
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Post by bobby's girl on Feb 25, 2009 8:20:27 GMT 1
Love the puppy!
I was talking to a colleague today and she said she has been talking to someone who is from Victoria and had been visiting family. She said everyone is just so sombre. Everyone either had family or knew someone. Everyone has a fire story to tell.
20 million people sounds like a lot but we have a lot of very small communities and silly though it sounds it doesn't matter where you go you always meet somebody you either know or who knows somebody you know so we all feel very connected. This to us is the equivalent of 9/11 or the London bombings.
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Post by Flowerpotty on Feb 25, 2009 10:33:15 GMT 1
It's cute isn't it?!
It's really sad. Lets hope that people affected can come to terms with it all and rebuild. An enormous task. I hope they get lots of help with the trauma of it all.
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Post by bobby's girl on Feb 28, 2009 2:00:09 GMT 1
Yes the counselling will be a l-o-n-g process for many, especially the firefighters and recovery crews. I think they will draw a lot of comfort from each other.
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Post by bobby's girl on Oct 2, 2009 14:16:10 GMT 1
Well have we had some weather this last week. First we had a dust storm. It was really eerie. Woke up at 6:00am to this red haze. I thought we must be having a bush-fire. Everything was covered in red dust. We'd no sooner dusted all that off and we got another one (thankfully not as bad). Our temperatures have been up and down from 33C to 19C. We've all got sinusitis and asthma. Apparently we've now got rain for the next week.
Has anyone seen the news of the earthquakes in Indonesia and the tsunami in Samoa? What is happening? So many people losing their lives, their families and children. Not to mention their homes. Whole villages just swept away. It's as bad as the bushfires here.
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Post by unforgetable on Oct 2, 2009 14:25:25 GMT 1
I was looking in Facebook and some fool said they found it exciting reading about the Tsunami,no thought for the poor souls who lost their lives in it
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Post by bobby's girl on Oct 4, 2009 1:32:04 GMT 1
They are like those people who stop at car accidents to have a look. Can't do anything to help but like to watch other people's misfortune. Something a bit missing with those people.
We have a large Samoan community here in Sydney and they've all lost family members. It's really sad. They didn't have a lot (materially speaking) to start with and now they've lost children, mothers, grandparents. One poor woman had her two little children torn out of her arms by the force of the tide. So many will never be found.
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