Australian Bushfire Season 2019-2020 Flashcards
When did the bushfires begin?
June 2019
What happened to Canberra? Nation’s capital?
Covered in a blanket of cloud which was spread out across the Pacific Ocean
Why did the bushfires start?
Optimal conditions for the fires - extremely dry and warm temperatures
Where did the bushfires begin?
Queensland then spread southwards
What was the record heatwave in summer?
40.9C
How much as a percentage of Australia’s forests were burned?
More than 20%
How many hectares of forest were estimated to be destroyed by the beginning of March 2020?
18.6 million
How many buildings were destroyed by the beginning of March 2020?
2779 homes
How many people died in the bushfires?
34 people died at least
As an estimate, how many animals were estimated to have been killed?
1 billion
How much did analysts estimate how much the total costs of the fires to be?
$70 billion
What was the response like? 3 things
Number of states were declared ‘emergency’ across NSW etc
Reinforcements were called in
Equipment was sent over
What is Kangaroo Island?
Located 112km SW of Adelaide
How many hectares were damaged on Kangaroo Island?
215,000 - more than half
What was the tree type like???
Eucalyptus based where the wildfire was dominantly burning
What is Eucalyptus known for?
Main source of a Koala’s diet
How much as a percentage of forest burned was there during the wildfires?
More than 20%
What is the Forest Fire Dryness Index?
It measures how dry the forest is because of the fires.
What is the range of the forest fire dryness index?
0-11 is Low moderate and 100+ is catastrophic
What does the Southern Annular Mode influence?
Rainfall and temperature affecting where the Westerlies blow and these strong winds normally blow further south of Australia and sit beneath an area of high pressure called the subtropical ridge
How did the SAM make it difficult to fight fires?
Stronger winds
