To ask you to pray for the thousands of people trapped on a beach by fires in Victoria?

[TheClaws]

There are 4000 people from the town of Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia, that is currently being destroyed by fire. They most likely won’t have homes to return to. They all have life jackets on ready to take shelter in the water as embers rain down upon them. Fire personnel have just - as I post - told them to get in the water. Can you imagine how they must feel?

Australia at the moment is burning across 4 states. Where I am it is 45c and the smell of smoke is heavy. It is a terrible summer for us.

Wow, glad you’ve had rain, echt! No rain here today, and we did reach high forties too. Blech. Windy too. No fires though, happily, although other areas haven’t fared as well.

Lots of rain in Melbourne. I hope it reaches where it's needed.

I sincerely hope these reports of rain signal relief for you all. I'm in the UK but so very shocked and upset by the ferocity of what you're going through.

Very sad account in the Guardian this morning of having a miscarriage during the fire crisis. www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/10/being-pregnant-in-a-climate-emergency-was-an-existential-challenge-miscarriage-has-brought-a-new-grief

Sky News is running a feature about Kangaroo Island, seems to be on repeat. Still just so bloody awful for people, and animals, and the longterm future. I've donated. Hope everyone in Oz can stay safe.

Estimate of animals lost now at 1 billion and hundreds of billions of insects.

www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-09/nsw-bushfires-kill-over-a-billion-animals-experts-say/11854836

oh those poor animals and bugs...

I have heard reports of rain, but otherwise the news seems to have gone relatively quiet; I hope this is a good thing and that those in Oz and your loved ones are safe tonight.

Thank you for your kind thoughts, yolofish.

Lots of haze around, but a wind's kicked up around Melbourne, so good for clearing it. Not seeing rain in the affected areas, hence the haze here: if it rains on the fires there, the haze will go here.

Hang on..a line of orange thundery clouds on BOM is heading across Victoria, though gigantic areas of blue is better as it indicates longevity of rain rather than ferocity. Still, any rain is good.

Fingers crossed.

major rain I've heard, but also risk of flooding? hope you are all ok

How are you doing in Oz MNers? UK media too full of Haz 'n Megz to report too much it seems. But I hope the rain has made a difference to the fires and not caused too much disruption.

It seems the rain has brought temporary relief, but now Canberra is under threat?

Wishing you all safety over there.

Very little in UK news about Oz at the moment, I hope you are all doing ok.