Australia gets rain and cash boost to tackle fires
January 6, 2020
The southeast of the country has some welcome relief thanks to the weather. Bushfires have wreaked havoc in recent weeks and the prime minister has promised substantial funds to help the region recover.
Image: Reuters/L. Coch
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Southeastern Australia received some respite on Monday when the fire-ravaged area of the country saw some rain and cooler conditions.
A second day of light drizzle and mild winds brought some welcome relief from the heatwave-fueled bush fires that tore through two states over the weekend. Officials, though, warned of complacency as the hazardous weather conditions could return later in the week.
"No one can be complacent. We've got big fire danger coming our way towards the end of this week with hot weather," Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters.
Indeed, the relief afforded to some areas of the country was not so evident in Canberra as it saw its air quality remain at a dangerous level due to smoke from the fires in the region.
Bushfires ravage Australia
Australia is grappling with its worst bushfire season to date. The nation has been forced to reckon with a rising death toll, mass evacuations and suffering animal populations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Davey
Widespread devastation
Massive bushfires have devastated Australia as the blazes continue to rage across the country. Since the start of one of the worst fire seasons on record, more than 2,500 homes have been burned, tens of thousands of people evacuated, and at least 29 killed. Here, a photographer reacts to seeing the burnt-out remains of a relative's home in Quaama, New South Wales.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Davey
Area the size of South Korea razed
As of January 17, fires have burnt roughly 10 million hectares (25 million acres) of land, an area larger than South Korea or Portugal. More than 170 fires continue to burn in Victoria state and New South Wales. There were 82 fires burning across New South Wales, 30 uncontained, and several fires in Victoria, according to fire authorities.
Image: Imago/B. Xuefei
Battling the blazes
Firefighters protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales, on December 30. Wildfires burning across four Australian states that day destroyed hundreds of properties and caused multiple fatalities. A volunteer firefighter was killed and three others were injured after strong winds pushed a fire truck over.
Image: picture-allianceAP/Twitter@NSWRFS
Red skies
A person stands in protective gear as nearby bushfires turn the sky red in Mallacoota, Victoria. Thousands of people in the coastal region were told to evacuate over the New Year period, while the Country Fire Authority later issued an ominous warning to residents still in the area that it was "too late to leave." Some 4,000 people spent New Year's Eve on the beach to avoid the flames.
An air tanker drops fire retardant over the Gospers Mountain fire near Colo Heights, northwest of Sydney, Australia on November 15, 2019. The Gospers Mountain fire originated in the Wollemi National Park, and came close to merging with other major fires in the area. Fires have torn apart the Blue Mountains, a popular tourist area, burning more than 500,000 hectares of land.
Image: Reuters/AAP/D. Lewins
Quick escape
A burnt bicycle lies on the ground in front of a house destroyed by bushfires on the outskirts of the town of Bargo, near Sydney, on December 21, 2019. The town was hit with a catastrophic fire danger warning as fires turned several nearby homes to ashes. The New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency that same week.
Image: Getty Images/D. Gay
Toddler receives posthumous medal for firefighter father
Firefighters are among the 28 people who have lost their lives in the fires. Some were volunteers. Thirty-two-year-old Geoffrey Keaton, along with a colleague, died when a burnt tree fell in the path of their fire truck. Keaton's nineteen-month-old son Harvey was awarded one of the service's highest honors on behalf of his father on January 2.
Image: Reuters/NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE
Animals caught in the flames
A kangaroo that survived the bushfire in Wollemi National Park in Sydney grazes for food in November 2019. The fires have not only sparked concern over human well-being, but have also created worries over the survival of endangered and vulnerable animals. The fires have killed more than a billion animals across eastern and southern Australia.
Image: Imago Images/AAP/J. Piper
Economic toll
The Insurance Council of Australia said on January 7 that the bushfires have caused at least US$485 million (€435 million) in damage and that number was likely to rise. Separately, authorities warned of looters in towns where people have evacuated and scammers taking advantage of fundraisers for relief efforts.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Khan
Koala species threatened by fires
The bushfires have devastated Australia's koala population. In New South Wales state alone, officials estimate 30% of koala habitat - eucalpyt woodlands, which they use for both food and shelter - may have been lost. At least 45 koalas were being treated for burns at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.
Image: Reuters/AAP Image/D. Mariuz
Australians take to the streets
Thousands of people took to the streets on January 10 in Australia's major cities to rally against Prime Minister Scott Morrison's inaction on climate change and his handling of the ongoing bushfire crises. The nationwide rallies were organized by university students in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.
Image: picture alliance/ZUMAPRESS
Smoke across oceans
Smoke from Australia drifted across the Pacific and reached South America, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on January 7. On January 2, the EU Copernicus program recorded the highest concentrations of atmospheric carbon monoxide in the world over the "clean" South Pacific Ocean stemming from the fires in Australia.
Image: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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The Australian capital recorded the worst air quality of any major city in the world on Monday morning.
PM under fire
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has been heavily criticized throughout the crisis, pledged AU$2 billion ($1.4 billion, €1.3 billion) over the next two years to help cover the damage caused by the bushfires and to aid the area in its restoration.
"What we are focusing on here is the human cost and the rebuilding cost for people's lives," the PM told reporters.
The wildfires have so far scorched an area almost twice the size of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, or the US state of Maryland. The blazes have resulted in the deaths of at least 24 people and destroyed roughly 2,000 homes.
Scientists are convinced man-made global warming has helped feed the fires but Morrison has been chastised for previous comments that were dismissive of the need to address climate change.
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has said "Climate change is influencing the frequency and severity of dangerous bushfire conditions in Australia and other regions of the world."
Morrison also came in for heavy criticism for taking a family vacation in Hawaii at the start of the crisis, as well as a sluggish response to return home.
Tennis players step up
With the Australian Open on the horizon, a number of tennis stars have already made donations, with Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic both giving money to the cause.
Local tennis star Nick Kyrgios last week assured fans he would donate AU$200 for every ace he hits in the tournaments in Australia throughout January.
