CASE STUDY 2019–20 Australian bushfire season Flashcards
1
Q
Where?
A
Australia (nationwide)
2
Q
impact
A
- 1 Billion animals died in the Australian bushfires
3
Q
details
A
- domination effect: people were much more prepared + aware for dangers of wildfires
- people had to evacuate
- no plans initially put into place because prime minister denies climate change as a problem
- gov policy criticised
- exacerbated glacial melting
4
Q
date
A
2019 - ongoing
5
Q
burned area
A
10.7M hectares
6
Q
cause
A
record breaking heat record breaking drought lightning strikes positive indian ocean dipole alleged arson
7
Q
rainfall
A
277mm
8
Q
key synoptic links
A
- global warming: increased co2 - 80 ppm of co2 released in the last 50 yrs
- ecosystem impacts: 1B animals unfortunately dead
9
Q
short term/primary impacts - social
A
- 2000 houses destroyed in total
- major road in victoria closed
- 7 people died in mega fire in victoria
- 386 properties destroyed and 5k buildings destroyed
10
Q
economic short term impacts
A
- tourism industry on a low (people are scared to go there)
- 1000 residents trapped
- 6 areas and resorts evacuated and closed
11
Q
environmental short term impacts
A
1B animals dead 3.9 M acres of forest land burnt 41 injuries 25, 000 koalas died 30% of kangaroo population sadly dead
12
Q
short term response
A
- a major road in victoria opened for 2hrs to allow people to evacuate and leave
- police boats arrived with 1.6 tonnes of water (part of hazard cycle management
- fires near me app used to aid evacuation and social media to let people let each other know they were fine
- fireman sam’s saved, 16000 people
- Kylie Jenner donated $1M
- Australia Defence Force: send black hawk and Chinook helicopters - influenced by gov
13
Q
long term social implications
A
- 200 homes lost in victoria
- another 176 in New South Wales
- large spatial scale illustrated as the smoke from wednesdays fires could be seen 2000km away in New Zealand
14
Q
Political long term impacts
A
- an actress renownced her green card to help fight climate crisis and defend fires: political sparks
15
Q
long term environmental impacts
A
- koalas at brink of being listed as endangered
- forests need to regrow
- influx of nutrients led to black water and consequently led to deoxygenated (nearly) water
- high concentration of mercury in water: damaging to health
