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Original poster

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

687 replies

TheClaws · 31/12/2019 00:46

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.

OP posts:
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OldieButaGoodie · 31/12/2019 02:28

Aussie here - and don't even start me on our PM Scott Morrison... Angry

I'm not a prayer person, however I applaud all those volunteers who risk their lives each & every time they go out. Without them, many more lives would have been lost, not to mention animals & property etc. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

theflushedzebra · 31/12/2019 02:28

I'm watching Sky news - forest fires in all states of Australia. Australia is burning. It's horrifying - why is this not waking up world leaders to climate change?

Sydney is under a smog of toxic smoke at present - but the NYE fireworks are going ahead. It's literally Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 31/12/2019 02:31

@LucaFritz Mallacoota residents weren't told to evacuate. As I understand it the authorities felt it was more dangerous to evacuate the town than for people to stay put.

I feel desperately sorry for them. I can't imagine what it must be like to wait on the beach with your children not knowing what will happen.

Didkdt · 31/12/2019 02:31

What I haven't found but have barely looked for is the justification for the Sydney fireworks going ahead
The country may well be in a state of mourning by midnight their time and this is a national disaster its not really the time for fireworks

mathanxiety · 31/12/2019 02:32

Where are they getting fresh water from?

I've seen pics and they are like the Apocalypse.

www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/12/australia-bushfires-thousands-trapped-by-bushfires-on-mallacoota-beach-in-victoria.html

managedmis · 31/12/2019 02:33

Surely they won't go ahead with fireworks?!?

managedmis · 31/12/2019 02:35

Bloody hell, those photos, math

managedmis · 31/12/2019 02:36

Possibly a stupid question but why aren't they evacuating people by boat rather than just leaving them there? I presume the mention of a beach means it is on the coast?

^^

Yes, why not?

theflushedzebra · 31/12/2019 02:38

The pictures are like the apocalypse. Bright red skies. My son came in, and asked if it was filter. It's not a filter.

bettybattenburg · 31/12/2019 02:41

Yes it's on the coast. Unless they've got a huge cruise ship handy that people can swim to and climb up how are they going to get 4000 people off a beach? It's not going to be possible to get that many small boats launched and to the beach to get them off.

MrsTerryPratchett · 31/12/2019 02:44

Possibly a stupid question but why aren't they evacuating people by boat rather than just leaving them there?

Because moving 4000 by boat in a massive country (British people have no idea of the distances involved) is a huge undertaking. While all the resources are focused on saving as many lives as possible and fighting the fires. Putting any resources into a possibly hazardous rescue when there are so few resources isn't possible. Bear in mind even the firefighters are volunteers rather than paid. I mean who would be evacuating people?

SnorkMaiden81 · 31/12/2019 02:44

Absolutely horrific. I'm not leant to prayer but whatever the equivalent is, I'll be doing it.

I've just messaged to check on my friends out in Aus, thankfully they're safe but that doesn't make this whole thing any less awful. Have armies been drafted in?

SnorkMaiden81 · 31/12/2019 02:45

Could the Navy (or equivalent) not help? I don't know. Grasping really.

justilou1 · 31/12/2019 02:47

That’s what our Dickhead Prime Minister will be doing

ICJump · 31/12/2019 02:48

It's not a port. Then once in the water there isn't anywhere to go. You'd also have people on boats with fuel being showered in embers

SnorkMaiden81 · 31/12/2019 02:49

A ship could dock a little out at sea and boats ferry them to and fro...

Didkdt · 31/12/2019 02:49

Francessca Winterton and her team have stopped broadcasting
I hope she and her team are safe

BoreOfWhabylon · 31/12/2019 02:49

I've just read that the Victorian Premier is requesting navy assistance to evacuate and has also asked for firefighters from the USA. He seems more proactive than the Australian PM.

I was in Melbourne during the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983. We weren't in any danger in the city but I'll never forget the pall of smoke and the very distinctive smell that enveloped us for days.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Defenbaker · 31/12/2019 02:50

Thanks to the people who explained the details of bush fires to me. I could have googled it but it is good to hear the facts from people who have experienced these things. I've seen disaster movies featuring such fires but thought they were exaggerated for dramatic effect - now I realise the truth is more frightening than any film portrayal.

I don't know what to say that could possibly be of any use, but my heart goes out to everyone affected by these awful fires. Here in the UK we've had a really wet autumn and floods in many places - it seems that we have received Australia's share of the rain (although being summer in Australia I doubt there would be much rain down there anyway, during December). Maybe the army could step in, or do they not have the training or equipment to help?

Mypathtriedtokillme · 31/12/2019 02:51

Fires can create there own weather when they get the right/truely frightening conditions. Thunderstorms that start fires 30km ahead of the fire front itself, fire tornadoes and fires move and change direction very very quickly.

The fires near Sydney are so big they can’t put them out and are trying to just contain them.
We aren’t expecting any rain fall for at least another month and haven’t had any real rain since like March maybe Feb.

They are trying to evacuate by boat but it’s 5000 people and a shallow jetty/beach.

theflushedzebra · 31/12/2019 02:51

twitter.com/search?q=%23AustraliaBurns&src=typeahead_click&f=live

Here's why they're having the fireworks, because they're optimistic. The country is burning, but the fireworks will mean they're strong! Yay!

FFS.

SnorkMaiden81 · 31/12/2019 02:53

I think the fireworks are a downright insult and wholly inappropriate right now, for a host of reasons.
I understand 'the money has already been spent' but REALLY. Hmm

bettybattenburg · 31/12/2019 02:54

By the time they got there from the fleet base in Sydney it could well be too late. It's 400km away. The navy base in Victoria is a training centre, no idea what they have but that's 500km away, not on the doorstep.

theflushedzebra · 31/12/2019 02:54

They can have a massive firework display in a sea of toxic smog and that will make everything ok! YAY!

FFS - this is not an isolated thing - this is not a one off disaster that will just solve itself over time- this is a climate emergency.

lborgia · 31/12/2019 02:55

Answering the fireworks issue - tout wouldn't believe the people who think they shouldn't be deprived of it, but anyway, the money had already been spent, and it will have brought in $130m in tourist revenue, and it is not in a fire risk area. They got special exemption.

Meanwhile, many, many people think it's really disrespectful, and have asked for it to be cancelled.

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