By: Abbie Phillips
Recently at the end of 2019 and continuing into the new year 2020, there have been horrible wildfires in Australia that have severely impacted their land. As of February 15, 2020, more than 46 million acres of land were burned in a wildfire. At least 80% of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area and 53% of the Gondwana world heritage rainforests in Queensland were burned. https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disaster/2019-australian-wildfires/
Since October 2019, at least 34 people have died from the wildfires. The majority of the deaths were in New South Wales, one was in the Australian Capital Territory, five deaths were in Victoria, and three took place in South Australia. Not only are people dying from the fires, but millions of plants and animals too.
The wildfires have caused a huge economic crisis in Australia. The estimated cost from the impact of the fires was around 3.4 billion dollars. At least 100,000 sheep and more than 25,000 livestock were killed in the Kangaroo Island fires alone. Hundreds of thousands of fish died in the Macleay River in northern NSW because of the ash and sludge from the fires. https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disaster/2019-australian-wildfires/
You might be wondering what started the fires. It’s the climate conditions that provided ample fuel for the fires to grow and spread. Before the fires ignited, Australia was already enduring its hottest and driest year on record. Lighting and even human action started some of the wildfires. https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/1/8/21055228/australia-fires-map-animals-koalas-wildlife-smoke-donate
Several firefighters sent out to help the fires were killed or severely injured. Many of the firefighters were volunteers because of how bad the fires were. About 3,000 homes and several thousand buildings were destroyed across the country. Many of the buildings that were destroyed were on farmland which will have an increased impact on the agricultural industry, in addition to the burnt soil. Wildlife rehabilitation and animal recovery efforts will be ongoing for years due to the destruction of habitat and the loss of animals. https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disaster/2019-australian-wildfires/
The fires were shown all over the media all around the world. The news, social media, twitter was blowing up, and more. Everyone was talking about how bad these have been and many people have been affected by these horrific fires. Having been to Australia for three weeks back in 2013 and seeing how beautiful it was makes me sad to hear about what’s been happening there. My prayers go out to everyone that has been affected by this.
To help Australia with what has been happening, it is very important to donate to groups or partnerships there. This is going to be something that is going to take a while to fix, and they need as many people as they can to help and support them as a country. At least $70 million has already been raised so we’re on the right track.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/australia/australia-fires-explainer-intl-hnk-scli/index.html
An Article by CNN on the wildfires in Australia.
Abbie's Blog 