Australian Fires check-in

[fireheart]

And my state has sunk to a new low.

In the last week (with a heatwave), there have been THREE cases of children being left inside locked cars. The kids (separate cars for each) were 14 weeks, 3 years old and five years old.

I could argue for the 14-week-old's mother suffering from sleep deprivation for a number of reasons (general sleep deprivation, kid has health issues etc.) but the 3yo and the 5yo just scream BIG time.

And yes, the cops did smash the window in a couple of cases.

[LesserSouthernFroglet]

There was a big fire south-east of Hobart last week, but nothing serious since then. We've been lucky this year, even with a wet, mild winter and heaps of undergrowth the fires have so far (touch wood!) stayed away.

We did get, unusually for us, a severe thunderstorm on Sunday. Gusts of up to 150kph, mature trees uprooted etc.

I hope all you mainlanders are keeping safe and cool in the heat.

[fireheart]

And my state has gone from one extreme to another.

For the first time in around 45 years, my state has been flooded. Not enough to cause massive evacuations, but enough to delay most forms of transport-public or otherwise.

South Terrace is basically swampland, the Fringe festival is flooded as is the Garden of Unearthly Delights (which is part of the fringe and NOT what it sounds like!).

[Seshat]

In the last week (with a heatwave), there have been THREE cases of children being left inside locked cars. The kids (separate cars for each) were 14 weeks, 3 years old and five years old.

May I just say: ARGH!


They're talking about the possibility of snow - SNOW! - in Victoria in the next few days. And not just in the mountains!

For all you N. Hemisphere people; remember it's late summer here. Also, the only places in Victoria that get snow are the mountains. So this is REALLY weird weather.


Not as bad as a tsunami in Toowoomba (city built on a mountain plateau, inland). But still weird.

[Mikkel]

They're talking about the possibility of snow - SNOW! - in Victoria in the next few days. And not just in the mountains!

For all you N. Hemisphere people; remember it's late summer here. Also, the only places in Victoria that get snow are the mountains. So this is REALLY weird weather.

The equivalent of our August, right? That is really weird, like getting snow in summer in France.

[Seshat]

January's usually our hottest month, with February second hottest. So yes, most likely equivalent to you guys getting snow in August.

I looked up a latitude table. Melbourne, my city, is 37oS.

Some cities between 35 and 40oN are:
Alberquerque (sp?) USA
Algiers, Algeria
Amarillo, USA
Ankara, Turkey
Athens, Greece
Beijing, China
Cincinatti, USA
Indianapolis, USA
Las Vegas, USA
Madrid, Spain
Nagoya, Japan
Naples, Italy
Reno, USA
Sacramento, USA
Teheran, Iran
Tokyo, Japan.


If it looks like the site I took it from allowed US cities to dominate its list - yes. I ended up editing. Hopefully this gives you an idea of the sort of latitude we're talking about, though.

Our Sydneysiders are at about 35 (or 34) S, so similar to the most equatorial of the cities on that list.
Adelaide is circa the same latitude as Melbourne.
Hobart is, I think, just past 40, so slightly more polar than the most polar of the cities on that list.

[Seshat]

packed and ready to go. also my house is near the point of last refuge.

Just a note for those of you watching the 'safely half a planet away from the fires' version; and who are interested in background info.

The CFA (Country Fire Authority) of Victoria has designated 'points of last refuge' for fires. These are places to go if you're absolutely desperate: the CFA specifically states that the 'last refuges' are NOT safe houses, not shelters - their site actually says that there's a high risk of injury and emotional trauma if you're sheltering there.

These are basically just places which are less likely to catch fire. The middle of a well-mown sports field, for example. Or a school building which is in well-mown grounds, and which has been designed to be fire resistant.

What the CFA wants people to do, is to plan and prepare before the fire season; know at least one, preferably two places to evacuate to, and as many routes from home/work/school to the evacuation location as possible.
They're asking people to check the fire danger first thing in the morning; and if it's at the risk level the family has chosen as their 'go level', the family should go to their planned evacuation spot. Which should be either well inside Melbourne, or at least two towns away and in a town which doesn't have the same fire danger level!
They want folks leaving first thing in the morning, before the fires start. Once there is a fire, evacuation is much more difficult.

There are billets and evacuation shelters other than the 'points of last refuge'; but for the most part, they're counting on simple country hospitality and Australian mateship to make sure people have places to go.
Sort of 'If you need to evacuate, you can stay with us. If we need to, we'll stay with you' arrangements.


..... You know, the CWA* should have a website forum with offers of evacuation shelter, requests for shelter, and requests for reciprocal arrangements. Basically a matchup forum, for folks who don't yet have the extended network themselves. Hm. If they don't yet have such a thing, I might offer to help design it.
* Country Women's Association. It originated back in the old sexist era, and still handles much of the country's social-networking.

[wolfie]

January's usually our hottest month, with February second hottest. So yes, most likely equivalent to you guys getting snow in August.

I looked up a latitude table. Melbourne, my city, is 37oS.

Some cities between 35 and 40oN are:
Amarillo, Texas USA
Cincinatti, OhioUSA
Indianapolis, Indiana USA
Sacramento, California USA

Trimmed list, states are my addition. Ohio and Indiana both border on Michigan, so they're one state from the Canadian border, California and Texas both border on Mexico. It's not as extreme as it sounds - Cincinnati is on the southern boundary of Ohio, and Indianapolis is about halfway down the state, while Amarillo and Sacramento are both close to the northern end of their respective states.