Today is the fourth anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires. On Saturday 7th February, 2009, my state, the state of Victoria burned. There had been bushfires burning but this day was the worst in Australian history with the largest loss of life - 173 people lost their life and 414 were injured due to the fires.
I remember that day clearly - early in the morning, the sun was a bright orange ball and we knew that that day would be terrible. the temperatures in Melbourne were 46.4ºC (115.52ºF) and in other areas it was 49ºC - (120.2ºF). The hot northerlies raged through my state with speeds of 80-100km. - the wind was ferocious, when I stood on my verandah it was 48º - in the shade and the wind was so hot it burnt our legs. You could hear it howling and there was a noise in the distance - a thunderous, rumbling noise - it sounded like huge jets, only there were no jets. I have never heard winds like that before, and I hoped to God I never hear them again. It was a most awful, awful sound. And it went on for hours.
Black Saturday was Victoria's darkest nightmare and the worst in our history.
Today's quote: It quickly swelled into the shape of a gigantic question mark, the middle of which was a vivid crimson, and as this thunderhead-like column billowed upward through the sky, she could see a red ball of fire at its core ~ Hiroyuki Agawa.
4 comments:
I also hope you never experience it again. Nor devastating floods.
Is it just me, or do natural disasters seem worse nowadays than a couple of decades ago? :(
I will have to agree with Hilda, feels like we see more and more catastrophes like this one these days. I remember following this story, Horrible day indeed.
Hilda, I don't think it's just you, disasters such as floods and fire seem to be much worse than in my childhood. Bushfires have always been part of the Australian and Victorian landscape and with more cleared land, more housing, people, there are less and less wide open spaces.
Stefan, those fires made news world wide, more so than any other I can remember in my lifetime.
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