O/T Spare a thought

[oldfella]

As of today, tuesday feb 11 here in Australia more then 170 people have lost thier lives in the worst fires theis country has ever seen in living memory.

I ask that we all spare a moment and send best wishes to all those families who are now without Loved ones and homes. It is a tragedy that has no comparison here. Seeing the news footage of the desperation and heartache is very touching and quite emotional. Whole communities have been burnt to the ground in Victoria, a state in south east Australia. More than 770 homes have been destroyed and countless outlying propeties have been engulfed in sheer walls of flames that reached well over 250 feet in the air. Fanned by winds of near hurricane strength these fires have just roared across the land like a runaway freight train and nothing was ever going to stop it. So many people simply got caught when trying to flee the inferno. Many of the dead have been found in thier vehicles on roadways obviously trying to escape the flames.

We live in a land of extremes here, but nothing could have prepared anyone for what has happened. From one extreme to the other.

Only a few hours drive from me is some of the worst flooding the northeastern part of Australia has seen in a hundred years is raging on. Monsoonal rains that have been relentless for weeks have soaked many towns along the coast. Backed by king tides thses towns have been flooded for nearly two weeks now. The main highway from north to south has been cut for days on end. Food and supplies are desperatly short in many places with trucks unable to get through with their deliveries. So many people along the eastern coast of Australia are now affected by either bushfires and their tragedy or floods and their devastation. The floods are going to further weaken the already failing Australian economy due to crop and livestock losses.

Some tough times ahead for many. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families and victims of these horrific fires and the immense loss of property due to extreme flooding. Please join with me and wish them all the best.
Thanks everyone.

 

[Pekkerwood]

My thoughts are with you guys. Be at Peace.

 

[thebrick]

Really terrible to read the news on this. Many were people caught by fires because the wind suddenly changed. What a horrible way to go. If there are arsonist involved, I hope they get what they deserve.

 

[machola]

i actually thought about you, oldfella, when i saw it on the news. you're the only person from Australia i know. its heart breaking. my thoughts are with the families affected. i wish them the best... i hope you stay safe from it too.

 

[oldfella]

i actually thought about you, oldfella, when i saw it on the news. you're the only person from Australia i know. its heart breaking. my thoughts are with the families affected. i wish them the best... i hope you stay safe from it too.

I am a long way away from the fires. But floods here are a very real possibility. It has been raining here for three weeks now. everyday and some days nonstop night and day. So Flooding can happen at a moments notice for us. But nothing compared to those fires.

 

[njpooldude]

Im sorry to hear this old fella... hope all gets better

 

[machola]

I am a long way away from the fires. But floods here are a very real possibility. It has been raining here for three weeks now. everyday and some days nonstop night and day. So Flooding can happen at a moments notice for us. But nothing compared to those fires.

hopefully it lets up soon, both fire and flood.

 

[oldfella]

Revised death toll...................up over 230 and still counting.

many places have still not been accessed yet. So it is expected to climb much higher. So many people were caught by a sudden wind shift. It simply pushed the fires too fast and they were caught before they knew it. So sad!

The police are almost ready to release some photfit ID's of two suspects in the deliberate act of lighting these killer fire storms. If I lived in these communities the police would be the least of the suspects' concerns. The mob that would be looking for them would hang them from a burning tree!!! I would supply the rope!

 

[Stump]

My 1st thought of hearing of this was you OF, hope all is well. My heart goes out to all the families.

 

[Thor]

JUST SAW THIS

on the national news, didn't know it was that bad, VERY SAD and immediately thought of OF and Big A, i hope you guys are far enough away from there. Don't know what else to say , thoughts and prayers with everyone there.

 

[Big A]

I loaded up one of the wagons from work with bottled water and I went up towards the mountains yesterday. Tons of other people have had the same idea and there were convoys of cars with water, food, clothes, etc.

It was surreal. Entire towns have literally been wiped off the map. You drive through towns and all you see are the foundations of houses. Nothing else.

Sometimes the fire front was reaching 60mph! People were trying to flee and the fire was moving quicker than they were able to drive and they got burnt alive in their cars.
Houses would perish within 30 seconds!

It all started on Saturday due to arsonists. And Saturday it just happened to be the hottest day on record ever. Most parts of the state had 120'F. Add to that wind gusts of 60mph+

There was a guy that ran outside his house and turned on the water pumps as the fire reached accross the street from him. He couldn't stand the heat, so he ran to his car around the back of the house. When he got to the car, it was already on the fire as the firefront went around the other side of the house. He jumped in a sewer and that was how he survived.

At least Victoria/Melbourne has the best infrastructure in the world (Melb is always voted the world's most livable city for numerous reasons). Our hospitals have fleets of emergency helicopters. We have fleets of fire fighting helicopters, and huge facilities for emergencies. So the emergency departments are putting up a massive fight and they are winning and none of them has been killed either.

Scary thing is that the fire front is still raging and burning down towns.

 

[oldfella]

I loaded up one of the wagons from work with bottled water and I went up towards the mountains yesterday. Tons of other people have had the same idea and there were convoys of cars with water, food, clothes, etc.

It was surreal. Entire towns have literally been wiped off the map. You drive through towns and all you see are the foundations of houses. Nothing else.

Sometimes the fire front was reaching 60mph! People were trying to flee and the fire was moving quicker than they were able to drive and they got burnt alive in their cars.
Houses would perish within 30 seconds!

It all started on Saturday due to arsonists. And Saturday it just happened to be the hottest day on record ever. Most parts of the state had 120'F. Add to that wind gusts of 60mph+

There was a guy that ran outside his house and turned on the water pumps as the fire reached accross the street from him. He couldn't stand the heat, so he ran to his car around the back of the house. When he got to the car, it was already on the fire as the firefront went around the other side of the house. He jumped in a sewer and that was how he survived.

At least Victoria/Melbourne has the best infrastructure in the world (Melb is always voted the world's most livable city for numerous reasons). Our hospitals have fleets of emergency helicopters. We have fleets of fire fighting helicopters, and huge facilities for emergencies. So the emergency departments are putting up a massive fight and they are winning and none of them has been killed either.

Scary thing is that the fire front is still raging and burning down towns.

Well done Big A. This is the single worst tragedy or disaster this country has ever seen. There are loads of stories just like this with people just doing anything and everything they can to help.

I have seen this disaster make really hard men break down and cry. I have had tears in my eyes with many of the stories coming out as of late. So many guys coming into the gym with families down there in the front. It is akin to a war zone, many of these guys come into the gym and choke back the tears as they are relieved that their families are safe. But yet knowing just how close they came to losing them. You do not need to live there to feel the emotions and tragedy that will affect the entire nation. Tales of heroism and deserate acts of kindness. Strangers just putting it all on the line to help others and save a life if they can. So many people affected and so many more still missing.

As Big A has said, the chopper footage is just heartbreaking, literally street after street of nothing but burnt debris! It resembles a nuclear blast as one expert has put it. just Nothing left of entire towns. I know this is world reaching news but to be so close to it is just mind blowing, the scale of which is hard to comprehend. Worst thing is it is not over yet!!

 

[michelin]

Its terrible news and impossible to imagine how desperate the situation is.
You're all in my thoughts.

 

[thebrick]

I loaded up one of the wagons from work with bottled water and I went up towards the mountains yesterday. Tons of other people have had the same idea and there were convoys of cars with water, food, clothes, etc.

When I hear about these arsonists and what they have done, it makes me question the human race, but when I see deeds as posted above, it gives me a faith in people again.

 

[mature muscle]

When I hear about these arsonists and what they have done, it makes me question the human race, but when I see deeds as posted above, it gives me a faith in people again.

They catch those cock suckers they should go back to public stonings till death results maybe that might have the next ones think twice.its not just the human suffering they have caused but the endangered wild life that has also been affected

 

[tkav1980]

if it was done on behalf of nature my heart would break, but it was caused by men so it turns to outrage. i rope for the laftey of everyone still in harms way.

 

[full_belly]

I was watching the news here last night in Auckland and hearing about the 300+ deaths caused so far seems outlandish for our little australasia, thats more like something youd hear from asia or south america!!

but what really brought it home to me last night was this one guy being interviewed, he was serene, even calm as he told the interviewer of how 2 days before he had lost his wife, one son and daughter in law. He was telling how tey always had a fire safety plan, but when they all fled they were only 40m behind him, sad to say they never caught up.

the interviewer called him a fire widower.... so sad i almost had a tear in my eye.. I hope all those involved have all the guidance and support they need from the other side

 

[Sassy]

Oldfella & Big A, I have been overloaded with work and out of town all last week, but I wanted to drop in and let you both know that my prayers go out to you all. I hope some relief comes very soon so no more lives are lost.

 

[machola]

I loaded up one of the wagons from work with bottled water and I went up towards the mountains yesterday.

God bless you man. i didn't know you were from Australia too. stay safe

 

[oldfella]

Yea, it is hard not to get emotional at the harrowing stories coming out of this tragedy.

One guy had his home designed with fires in mind. His wife and family and nine others from neighbouring properties all gathered in his fire fortified home. They turned on the external sprinklers to drench the house. The husband was out with volunteers fighting the fire at the front and came home to find his house razed to the ground and all inside had perished! I cried over that one. This fire was so fierce and so fast it just incinerated everything in its' path. The destructon is just unfathomable. From the satellite the pictures are of a blackened piece of the State of Victoria. And quite a large piece it is too.

Yes there are stories of survival also.
One woman was fleeing the fire with her neighbours in front of her. In the rear view mirror the first car could see the wall of flames just racing toward them faster than tey could drive. The second car disappeared in a wall of smoke and flames. He thought he saw her veer off the road and end up in a dam. Well it turns out she did just that. Drove her car into a dam along the road, bot out and swam into the deeper water and waited there for over twenty minutes as the inferno raged all around her. SHe survived!!

Another guy had the foreshight to actually build a fallout/bomb shelter under his house. When he saw the situation was desperate he took his family and himself into his shelter and sealed the door behind him. They waited it out. During the height of the blaze he said the steel door to the shelter was glowing red it was that hot. He and his family emerged some hours later unscathed, house and all belongings gone but his whole family alive and well.
I wonder how many of his neighbours thought he was mad for building a bomb shelter in the middle of the bush in Australia??? How mad is he now?? The States premier (like a governor) is calling for new building codes to be adopted and the provision be made for just this type of shelter when any new building is built or old ones restored. Not so crazy after all.