Wildfires - Black Saturday Flashcards
What was the believe cause of the fire?
There were many speculations as to what started the fire but it was found out to be a faulty power line that collapsed . This caused sparks which then caught fire to the shrubbery around.
What was another factor that lead to the increased intensity of the fire ? .
Australia had been going through a heatwave a week prior to the fire with a 3 day period of temperatures about 43 degrees . This made all vegetation very dry and flammable . Mixed with dry 60mph winds and the fire was driven to more fuel very quickly.
How many people died as a direct result of the fire ?
This fire cause 173 deaths .
Where were the majority of these deaths ?
The majority of the deaths were in domestic areas where people were trapped in their homes.( king lake and whittlesea)
How many people were injured and how many were seriously injured?
400 people were injured with only 20 of these being serious .
How many homes and other structures were destroyed?
Over 2030 homes were burnt to the ground and 1400 other structures such as business were destroyed. With thousands more damaged.
What were the agricultural losses like ?
They were large with 12,000 head of life stock , 62,000 hectares of grazing pasture and 32,000 tonnes of hay were lost .
What happened to the river catchment areas ?
They were heavily contaminated by ash , with five of melbournes major dams recording night levels of ash in their reservoirs.
How much did the fires cost and how much of this was on insurance claims ?
This fires cost Australia a total of 4.5 billion dollars with 1.2 billion dollars being in insurance claims .
What was another major primary affect of the fire ?
The fires lead to the almost extinction of an already endangered species , the leadbeaters possum.
Where were two main impacts to the infrastructure of the area ?
There was a massive loss of communication in a wider area than the fire down to telephone towers and server buildings being destroyed.
Many individuals were also without power for days or weeks . Meaning business that used electric tools could no longer operate , this lead to the failure of many small businesses.
What is the hardest affect to be recorded and measured?
The physiological one . The fires affected many people . Either their homes or someone’s near then would be damaged , destroyed. There as a constant reminder of the trauma they’d been through .
How many firefighters were involved in trying to control the fire ?
There were around 5000 firefighters involved .
What was the problem with the loss of communication?
Hours before the residents had been told to evacuate but the loss of communication meant few people heard the message , leading to a bigger death toll .
What was the care package like for people affected by the storm? (Supplied by the government)
For every single person who had been hospitalised, $1000 to ever adult and $400 to every child was given out .
