Victoria Australia Wildfire Flashcards
(25 cards)
when was the wildfire?
early February 2009
what were the fires named?
‘black Saturday bushfires’
how bad were the fires compared to previous?
country’s all time worst bushfires resulting in largest loss of life
what type of forests is Victoria covered in and why is this bad?
eucalyptus forests which have oil rich foliage so easily burns
what is the climate like in Victoria?
often periods over 40 degrees Celsius with low humidity and state also suffers from periodic droughts
what is the area susceptible to?
high winds which will produce drier conditions and fan flames over large distances
what weather sometimes happens during summer months?
lightning strikes
what crosses the state for good reasons but can sometimes create sparks?
power cables cross the state but can be brought down in adverse weather producing a spark that can set of a fire. These cables are even in rural areas for the service
what is the problem in rural areas when a fire starts?
due to depopulation in recent years there has been a decline in rural services making it difficult to fight fires when started
what weather event happened in February?
severe heatwave with hot tropical air blowing over the state
what happened on 7th February morning?
hot north westerly winds over 100km/hour hit causing low humidity
what were some of the causes identified for the fires starting?
- lightning strikes
- sparks from falling cable lines
- spark from machinery and power tools
- arson (deliberately started)
how many fatalities were there?
173 including one fireman
what property loss occurred?
- over 2,000 houses
- 1,500 farm buildings
how many people were displaced due to the fires?
over 7,000
how much forest loss occurred?
over 450,000 hectares were lost
what agricultural losses occured?
- lose of livestock
- loss of standing crops
- pasture
- olives
- stored fodder
- loss of boundary fencing
how many animals did the RSPCA estimate to have perished?
over 1 million animals
what happened to national parks?
large areas of them were destroyed
what happened to the states electrical supply?
disrupted to over 60,000 residents
what happened to empty properties?
some were looted
how much damage did the fire cause in total?
$4.4 billion Australian dollars worth
what was introduced in October 2009 and what did it take account?
a new fire hazard system was put in place which would forecast a fire danger index each day and on highest risk days people would be advised to leave potentially affected areas.
Took into account:
- temp
- dryness of vegetation
- wind speed
- relative humidity
what happened to do with buildings after the event?
new building regulations for bush fire prone areas were fast-tracked by government. Government also urged by experts to ban housing in highest risk areas.
