Our beautiful country is suffering.
People in Victoria are suffering horrendous losses of life and property due to the bush fires. At least 65 people have been confirmed dead, more than 300,000 hectares are burnt out and 640 homes have been lost at this stage. And the authorities think that most of the fires have been deliberately lit. What kind of heartbreaking lunacy is this?
Across South Australia and Victoria the heat wave conditions of the past few weeks have also cost many lives, particularly elderly people who did not have cooling or fans or refrigeration when the electricity was load-shed. And all because of the heavy energy usage going on.
In Queensland, floods are destroying property and livelihoods. There doesn't seem to be much in the news on loss of life, but there was an item about a five year old boy being taken by a crocodile.
And what about the native animals and plants? We've seen the pictures of koalas approaching people to get them a drink - a rarity as koalas usually get their moisture from the leaves they eat. But what about the animals now losing their homes to fire or flood? What about the plant species that may be endangered as a result of our "weird weather"?
Please spare a thought for all creatures currently being tested in ways many of us can never even begin to imagine. Many have lost loved ones or homes or livelihoods. And to all of those wonderful volunteers who are out there helping - a big, heartfelt thank you!
For those of us sitting in the relative comfort of 40C, with our fans or coolers and cold drinks - we can donate money through the National Australia Bank or the Bendigo Bank or the RSPCA or Wildlife Rescue service. We can also donate household items and clothes through our local charity collections. And we can pray that this will all end soon, without further loss of life.
love and light
naturewitch
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8 comments:
its just fucking awful. we've all been pretty teary at the awful losses. definitely time for compassion and giving.
Hi Naturewitch.....It made me teary reading that....we had floods in the summer last year across the UK....fortunately human life was ok, but the wildlife suffered devastating effects.
My heart goes out to all human and wildlife.....I do hope the pain and suffering ends soon...
So sad......
I've seen bits and pieces on our news about this ... so devastating. I can imagine the horror. We've had a few close calls over the years, but last year in mid-May was the closest. Numerous brushfires broke out all around us. I can still see the flames shooting up over the top of my neighbor's two-story home while I was frantically loading my vehicle if the need to evacuate arose. I can close my eyes and still see his entire backyard, all the way up to his back door, engulfed. We ran around furiously stomping out lit embers that were landing in our front yard, along with a firefighter, in the wee AM hours and in those wee AM hours we were evacuated. Blessedly, we had a home to return to and our neighbor's home along with many others were saved. A couple of homes less than a mile up the road were completely destroyed. The landscape still bears the ugly scars. I know at least one deer was rescued and now has a home at a nearby zoo.
Keeping everyone there in my thoughts and prayers. Brush fires are an ugly, ugly beast. (The ones here appear to have been intentionally set as well.)
flmom I didn't realise.
Here in So. Cal. we're getting sparse coverage of your fires. The fact that American news carries any info at all means things are bad. (In America, our news sources assume that the US is pretty much alone on the globe.)
I am sorry for such devastation and suffering. This morning's report said there were now 150 dead, and that news is probably a day old already.
Please know that you and your neighbors are in my thoughts, and that I wish you respite and favorable weather.
How sad! We've been hearing about it in our newspapers and of course on the net.
My thoughts and prayers go out to everybody at such a terrible time.
Blessings
Today's news had some coverage of the amounts of goods people have donated so far. Eight truckloads fo goods have been sent from Adelaide and much more is still being sorted and packed. the buildings at our showgrounds are chocablock with boxes, bags and people. I'm sure other cities are doing the same and it's great to see so many people doing so much to help.
Dear All
It has been a testing time, and I'm sure many of us have been brought to tears. The main thing now is to move on and help those affected rebuild their lives. xx
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