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February 12, 2009

Victoria fire, a re-cap of events

This morning i read an article in 'The Australian' that i thought to share entitled '
How the battle with Victoria's bushfires was fought and lost'. I really appreciate the work of these journalists in creating a re-cap of events that led us into these disastrous events. Living without a TV is i believe even more a good thing these days that normally as it is all too easy to become too glued to other peoples horrors which I really wouldn't want to do. Having the ability to read and understand better how such devastating fires were created and going through what it must have felt like to be enclosed by them creates i believe a much more lasting impression, at least for myself.

If you can and haven't yet, please donate to the Red Cross' 'Victorian Bushfire Appeal' to support the families that lost everything and will most certainly face an up-hill battle in regaining their lives.

And like so many others in Australia and across the globe i have of course also seen and was greatly moved by some actual positive news. If you haven't yet, please do; there is also the possibility to donate to RSPCA Victoria.


Posted by bjoern at 5:22 AM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2009

Victoria fires; a heartfelt call for compassion by someone within our network

I wanted to share a message from someone here in Australia who is personally very exposed to the fires ravaging Victoria. If you can, please do donate with the Australian Red Cross for the thousands who have lost all they had and the countless others deeply affected.

Following her message which speaks best by itself.

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[...] in relation to the horrific Bushfire situation in Victoria, Australia.

I live in the rebuilt township of Cockatoo, Victoria; the worst hit town, obliterated in the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires in which 75 people died and 2,545 homes were lost, total land area burnt was approximately 2,100 km².

On the weekend I evacuated my young family ahead of the warnings that the fire conditions on Saturday 7th January 2009 would be worse than those on Ash Wednesday, and they were. 

Thankfully our area was spared this time around, however many areas weren't.
 
The current situation is that there are 25 fires still burning out of control and a total 152 fires burning in Victoria yet to be declared safe, 173 people are confirmed dead and over 750 homes lost, 3,218 km² of land burnt, and still more to come.

I personally have dear friends still missing in Kinglake and Narbethong, including two children aged 6 and 3, and several other friends are thankfully safe, but without homes.
It cost $1.3 billion (in today's adjusted terms) to rebuild after Ash Wednesday. Victorian citizens, Corporate and Government have already raised $26 Million, however it will take much more to rebuild after this devastating event.

I am making a heartfelt appeal to anyone who can spare a few dollars to please make a donation to the Australian Red Cross, Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009 on this link, every single dollar counts.

Please could you also share this email with your professional networks. 
Thank you for your consideration and for sparing a thought for all who have lost beloved ones, pets, homes and memories.

Kind regards,
[...]

PS: Here are two pictures that show how close the fires are to me.

Cockatoo
The view from my home this morning; as you can see there are still fires burning, so a wind change in our direction would mean we too would lose our home.
As a first degree connection, you now know someone personally affected by this tragedy.


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Posted by theandb at 8:41 AM | Comments (0)