Thinking about those affected by the Australian fires

[barefoot]

I’ve been thinking about this lately and wondering how things are now?

 

[blackemerald1]

Well I'd say that the extreme & catastrophic fire danger levels have now mostly passed. But in a lot of places the risk is still considered to be medium to severe. I've not driven through any that are considered safe so far.

There are some pockets/places where unfortunately they've missed out on rain and they are still very much on alert.

The environment, at least around me, was so dry for so long, when we get rain, it is absorbed quickly and within a few hours there's little moisture. But if our Autumn rains start and continue the likelihood of fire will be much reduced.

In saying that though, we are still receiving daily alerts for small bushfires in the forests. Fortunately the authorities are so on top of them that they are not getting out of control. Well not at this stage. :)

It's a little bit surreal getting an alert in the middle of the night that units are responding to a fire in the forests. For sure, started by young human beings who are bored I think.

The people that lost homes, properties & livestock are still, mostly in that same position. Returning to normal takes a lot of time. In some instances there will be or cannot be a return. Too much was lost.

Farmers have lost many generations of blood lines in terms of livestock, Sheds, homes, equipment that have taken decades to acquire will take perhaps the same amount of time to recover. A lot of farmers were not insured for their crops, livestock & property. Things like fences, bore pumps, gates, re-opening roads that are not part of the national road grid, restoring power or waiting for power poles to be replaced. It all takes years. Not months. Some of the infrastructure is slowly being rebuilt but it will take a long time.

And of course the National audience has it's gaze firmly upon covid19 now.

Most people who have lost something and who are insured, are still in limbo waiting for bureaucracy or insurance companies to finish their end so that they may proceed with the next steps. Whatever that might be. Those that are not insured are heading into winter with virtually no prospects and the outlook is bleak.

Wildlife shelters have done an amazing job saving, rehabilitating & returning wildlife to various locations wherever possible. A lot of animals were destroyed because they were too far gone or too damaged and rehab would not have been humane or feasible.

Many animals will stay within protected reserves. It's a long rehabilitation process for some animals and surprisingly short for others. So much depends on whether or not they can be returned to their usual environment and whether or not that still exists or is recovered enough to support the wildlife.

Mother nature is restoring herself. Forests are regrowing which is an awesome sight. Blackened and charred trees that bore the brunt of unbelievable fire temperatures have not only survived but are regrowing new bright green branches and leaves. It's nothing short of miraculous. A sight to behold really.

In some places, to add insult to injury, unseasonal floods swept through taking the topsoil which had no hope of staying in situ because the understorey of the forests, the bushes, shrubs and grasses had been torched & were dead.

Most of the recovery in almost all respects depends on rain, money & the sheer grit of the people who live there to rebuild or start, in some cases, from scratch The people have the grit and the rest is slowly trickling in.

 

[ms spock]

@barefoot nothing much has been rolled out and now with Covid19 the government will have another excuse not to act.

Yeah there was a notational $2 billion dollar Bush Fire Fund and when it came before Senate Estimates it came out that it was notational - it doesn't exist. So from the time the Prime Minister announced it to the time that press briefing ended. It existed but after that no actual follow through or even funding was allocated to it.

So folks are screwed. We did fundraisers and sent money to some places. But an overall orchestrated response is not occurring in the areas I am not part of, connected to or familiar with. Hopefully someone can come along and say they are actually receiving assistance.

We got some fundraisers to do give assistance to communities that have capacities for pass it on. Very small incursions which in the big scheme of things doesn't matter. It was the best that I could do and the communities that I assist could do.

 

[blackemerald1]

now with Covid19 the government will have another excuse not to act.

^Not true.

All of the defence force resources, government loans & the framework for people needing social security assistance is in place and is working.

The charities have been working very well & are continuing to support those that need it.

The people of Australia are quite good at getting their dissatisfaction out into the public arena if necessary. They are not doing so. The systems put in place to help people, and the government agencies who are operating those systems are concentrating on their jobs & doing it. But they're doing it quietly!!

The government has assigned its expenditure for those in need of bushfire relief and it is proceeding as needed.

There is money there and it is being distributed. There are some difficulties with certain charitable events because they did not specify exactly where the money they raised should go. That's being sorted out.