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| Down Under | |
| Australian bushfires kill 108, dozens more missing | |
| 2009-02-09 | |
| WHITTLESEA, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's deadliest bushfire crisis eased on Monday, but the death toll kept rising with at least 108 people killed as families searched for scores of missing in the twisted, charred ruins. Media reported the death toll could reach 170 as authorities searched hundreds of razed homes some 80 km (50 miles) north of the country's second biggest city of Melbourne. Police believe some of the fires were deliberately lit. "There are no words to describe it other than mass murder," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told local television. "These numbers (dead) are numbing ... and I fear they will rise further," he added. A massive bushfire tore through several small towns near Melbourne on Saturday night destroying everything in its path. Many people died in cars trying to flee the inferno, others were killed huddled in their homes, yet some miraculously escaped by diving into pools and farm reservoirs or hiding in their cellar. More than 750 houses were destroyed and some 78 people, with serious burns and injuries, are in hospital. Wildfires are a natural annual event in Australia, but this year a combination of scorching weather, drought and tinder-dry bush has created prime conditions for blazes to take hold.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 Anyone caught setting such a fire should be burned at the stake. I know that's "cruel & unusual punishment", but it fits the crime, and would even make a dyed-in-the-wool jihadi think twice. Fireproof homes are very EXPENSIVE to build. I have the plans for one - a 2200 sq. ft., three-bedroom, two-bath home, virtually fireproof. The cost would be around $212,000. To build it out of regular materials - $126,000. It's okay until temps get over 1200 degrees F, where the internal components would burst into flames - drapes, furniture, books, papers, rugs, etc. I've got a couple of friends that live in that area. One of them is a volunteer fireman. He told me it was very hard to get out of the way of the fire, and almost impossible to stop it. Flaming embers were blowing as much as five miles ahead of the front of the fire, setting other fires. Indeed, we will pray for the safety of our friends there, and for an early containment and extinguishment of the fires there. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-02-09 17:05 |
| #6 Oi, oi...oi. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-02-09 11:49 |
| #5 We've got you and yours in our thoughts and prayers, Oz. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-02-09 09:10 |
| #4 Australian bushfires are extremely scary. Trees literally explode in fireballs. But I have little sympathy for people who build homes of flammable materials and surround them with trees in bushfire areas. Most don't even have a fireproof shelter. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2009-02-09 07:13 |
| #3 Death toll currently at 134, expected to exceed 230. |
| Posted by: Oztralian 2009-02-09 05:14 |
| #2 Police believe some of the fires were deliberately lit. Which reminds me of that : Islam group urges forest fire jihad Josh Gordon September 7, 2008 On a related note, WND (considered wild-eyed by many, which is probably true, by the way) had a serie of articles over the years about jihadis claiming to be willing to use forest fires as terror weapons against the USA; also, in France, reach year, along with the usual local perps, there are "Youths" from big cities caught lighting fires in southern France (though this may be just part of their rather incredible fondness for setting stuff on fire); and, speaking of the south of France, local vegetation here is very suited to brush fires, and is incidentally very different from the vegetation found in antiquity, BECAUSE, muslim pirates used forest fires as a terror weapon a lot over the centuries IIUC, and this led to the flora adapting itself to it. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2009-02-09 03:47 |
| #1 THAT was one HOT fire! I imagine that the tinder dry conditions, along with the gum trees as fuel would make an inferno. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-02-09 01:27 |