BLACK SATURDAY BUSHFIRESBLACK SATURDAY BUSHFIRES

2009 BLACK SATURDAY BUSHFIRES

By Chris D'Costa and Daniel Parkes

Where? When?

The Black Saturday Bushfires were a series of Bushfires, that burnt across the Australian state Victoria, on Saturday the 7th of February 2009.

This was during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, by this resulting in Australia's

highest ever loss of life from a bushfire.

How was this bushfire created?

The Black Saturday Bushfires were created by high weather conditions as high as 46.7*C. Victorians were told to brace themselves for the worst day in the states history, with multiple heat waves, combined with gale-force winds up to 90 km/h. On this day more than 46 fires erupted across the state, 14 of them claiming lives and causing significant damage. Many of these fires were also due to faulty power poles and the weather condition itself.

The damage caused:

Kilmore East was the most affected area from the fires, claiming up to 121 lives. The wind helped the fire travel to other towns such as Kinglake where 38 people died, Strathewen were 27 people died, and St. Andrews were 12 people died. Residents didnt know what was coming, and many people couldn’t flee. The tourist town of Marysville was also effected were 34 people died. Gippsland was also hit by the fires where 11 people died.

What was done to help the people?

The Australian Government immediately reacted and announced that a Royal Commission would be formed to look into the disaster, but it was not effective. Also before this disaster, the CFA Country Fire Authority warned the communities, of what may happen but not many people listened and didn't know the danger they were in. The CFA also posted a policy called ‘stay or go’ which stated if people should fight and protect their homes, or flee early.

What did the Australian nation do to help?

After this dreadful disaster the people of Australia raised money for the people that lost everything. The bushfire appeal raised about $30 million dollars, which has been distributed from the appeal fund through $10,000 grants to families of the dead, $7500 payments to the seriously injured and $5000 grants to those who lost their homes. Totally the fund raised up to $301 million contributed by everyone.

What the experts said and what could've been done better?

Many problems went wrong when the fire fighters were trying to put the fire out. Miscommunication led to confusion and poor decision making at critical times. Fire experts say that these 2 fires alone released energy equivalent to 1500 small atomic bombs.

(2) What the experts said and what could've been done better,

and how it benefits us:They also said that no matter how many fire

fighters tried to help, no one could've saved all the people effected. But not all is bad, from this experience we can get a better understanding of what to do when another bushfire happens and how we can control it and send out warnings.

Aftermath and Rebuilding:

After the fires, it has been extremely hard to rebuild and is taking much longer that originally thought. Also since the bushfires tourism in Marysville has dropped by about 23%. The Premier told Parliament that he'd guarantee to rebuild in the days following Black Saturday and stand by those who had lost so much.

(2) Aftermath and Rebuilding:

Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority figures show 583 building permits had been approved for new dwellings in fire areas. More than 2000 homes were destroyed on Black Saturday. Everyday each town is slowly progressing, and the future is looking brighter.

Pictures:

Map of effected area:

Bibliography:

http://www.abc.net.au/innovation/blacksaturday/

http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/03/tracking-the-black-saturday-bushfires-at-the-source-of-ignition/

http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2009/11/the-australian-%E2%80%9Cblack-saturday%E2%80%9D-bushfires-of-2009/

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/victoria-bushfires