Australian Bush Fires Flashcards
Where was the hottest place on earth on 4 January 2020 and how hot?
Penrith (suburb in Sydney), at 41.9 degrees Celsius
What has been Australia’s hottest year on record?
2019, 1.5 degrees Celsius above average
What was Australia’s driest year and by how much?
2019, 40% lower than average
What caused droughts in Australia?
Unusually strong positive Indian Ocean dipole in 2019, led to higher than average rainfalls and floods in Eastern Africa and droughts in Southeast Asia and Australia
How long did the bushfires last for?
240 days, from September 2019 to March 2020
List the primary effects:
33 killed, 3,094 houses lost in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, ACT, Western Australia and South Australia, 1 billion animals lost, 1/3 of koala population killed, fires in NSW burnt 5.3 million hectares (6.7% of the state), including 2.7 million in national parks (37% of the states national park estate), damage ro world heritage areas (blue mountains, Gondwana rainforests in NSW and Queensland), 12.4 million acres burnt (bigger than England), 11 firefighters killed
List the secondary effects:
Smoke so bad in Sydney in December that air quality measured 11 times the hazardous level, further 2 billion animals displaced, tourists resorts destroyed, $3 billion in damage, more premature deaths, $100 billion to repair
List the short term responses:
US, Canada and New Zealand sent firefighters to help, Australia’s police, military and navy in SAR and evacuation efforts, firefighters spraying water and fire retardant from planes and helicopters, 70 countries offered assistance, dug earth boundaries ro stop flames from spreading, priority was to save lives, RC activated its emergency teams, sending them to communities affected by bushfires in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Forestry cooperation app to synchronise data (track fires and detect hot spots using thermal images), fire danger ratings, used drones and satellites to monitor flames
List the long term responses:
Each state runs its own emergency operation but Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised funding for firefighters and layout for volunteer firefighters, additional £1 billion for recovery efforts, National government under criticism that it’s not done enough against climate change, 77,200 meals handed out by Australian military, 31 July 2020 Australian RC had received $232 million in donations, disaster relief and recover fund, Emergency grant: $56 million allocated for people whose primary place of residence was destroyed as a result of the bushfires
Primary residence repair grant: $20 million for home owner-occupiers whose homes had been structurally damaged and required repair as result of the bushfires
Re-establishment grant: $87 million for people who lost their primary place of residence in the bushfires to have somewhere safe to live in the medium to long term. This includes homeowners, renters and people living in non-permanent structures, Injury grant: $8.5 million for people who spent two days or more in hospital because of physical injuries or mental health issues directly resulting from bushfires, Bereavement grant: $1.8 million for the next of kin of people who died in the fire, Discretionary financial hardship: $2 million for people not eligible for other grants but experiencing financial hardship as a result of the bushfires, RC spent $5 million on its the on-the-ground disaster services in 2019-20,
