australian wildfires of 2009 - black Saturday bushfires Flashcards
when was it?
7th feb - 15th march 2009
what areas?
australian state of Victoria - Marysville and Melbourne
what part of AUS?
south eastern, inland
how many killed?
173
what we’re the conditions?
hot, north-westerly winds over 100km/h, low humidity (under 10%)
what can be fire starters? ignition
lightning strikes, sparks from falling cables, power tools and machinery sparks, arson
what is meant by pyrocumulonimbus?
fire strom cloud, climbed to 30km high –> like smoke plume from volcanic eruption - in upper atmosphere , the clouds cool, ice particles form
how much of the forest was euclapytus?
3/5 - 4x the size of uk
what problem with euclaptus?
oil rich - easily burns
summer climate - Victoria
periods of temps of 40oC+ - low humidity and periodic droughts
what the problem with summer climateW?
toner-dry conditions - just need a spark to start
when did they have severe and prolonged heatwaves?
final week of jan 2009 - §
in jan 2009 Melbourne had what kind of heat for how long?
40oC for 3 consecutive days (longest in AUS history)
what happened on 7th feb?
temps of nearly 40 at 11am and strong winds growing to storm force that intensified fire
what is common in summer weather bc of no rain?
dry lightning