A Long & Arduous Road to Recovery

It has been a week since that fateful Black Saturday Victoria Bushfire Storm of 7th February, 2009 which has tragically become the worst national disaster in Australian history. To date, 181 citizens are confirmed dead and many are still missing. It is feared that the death toll could climb to 300 or more. The only silver lining that lingers in the horizon which may provide some comfort to fire victims who have lost their loved ones and everything else is the overwhelming response from the public to the appeal for donation of much needed funds for the rescue of fire victims. So far, the donations have topped A$ 92 million from the private sector alone. To the victims, I express my deepest sympathy and send you all this message :- " You'll Never Walk Alone ! "

Very appropriately, a Royal Commission ( similar to a Congressional hearing in the USA ) will be conducted to examine all facts & circumstances relating to this national tragedy and to make useful recommendations accordingly. From my discussions with fire victims and their friends I have come to the following conclusions about some positive steps that, in my humble opinion, can be implemented to lessen the impact of any future bushfires.

Firstly, country residents must be educated to learn more about bushfire to get themselves prepared for all contingencies. In particular, when to evacuate despite their will to defend their homes. Many of the victims such as the 100 plus fatalities in Marysville were burnt to death in their cars when they were outrun by the raging fire. It was simply a tragic case of a late evacuation. Fanned by over 50 km per hour gale force winds the fire storm outrun their cars in which the victims were severely hindered by thick smoke or blocked by fallen & burning trees. Many victims had sadly misjudged the ferocity of the fire storm and their own ability to defend their home against the overwhelming fury of mother nature.

Secondly, there should be some statute law to allow the emergency services ( the police, CFA - Country Fire Authority ) to order a forced evacuation like the USA. Understandably, people are strongly attached to their homes but it is not logical to ask people to make up their own minds on emotional issues such as this. Despite the difficulty of implementation it is about time that the Australian people should re-think their present practices that have proven fatal to so many in the Black Saturday Bushfire Storm.

Thirdly, building laws must also be updated to provide for the compulsory construction of underground fire escape bunkers for those who are too late to escape the inferno. Based on first hand experience from surviving victims ( such as the those related to the video link attached at the end of this blog which was produced by me ) the fire storm will pass in a few minutes after burning out all its fuel such as trees, shrubs and houses in your location. In the case of my friend's neighbours, the couple were wise enough with their construction knowledge to have used fire retardant materials for the interior of their burnt down home. They were at one point trapped inside their slowly burning house ( slowly because of the fire retardant materials ) while their house was surrounded by the raging ring of fire which burnt out the environment within a matter of a few minutes. Had their own house burnt at the same rate as the exterior fire storm they would have perished for sure. These are useful and expensive lessons to be learnt from this tragedy of grand scale. Fire victims commented that compared to the Ash Wednesday Bushfire ( also in Victoria ) in 1983 that killed 75 people the one week old Black Saturday Bushfire Storm is like hell on earth as opposed to a BBQ in the backyard for the former.

Fourth, a Federal Member of Parliament who is an engineer rightly pointed out that the wooden cross bars of electricity transmission posts must be replaced by steel once to prevent country fires from occurring due to a short circuit. A substantial percentage of over 10 % of bushfires are caused by this problem. The Australian Government must act to rectify this problem and must do so quickly as soon as the findings of the Royal Commission are published.

Fifth, I as well as many others think the the decade long protracted drought is a major contributing factor to this national tragedy. Everything is so dry that trees and shrubs will ignite on the slightest spark be it from thunder & lightening or arsonists. The northern part of Australia falls in the tropics with torrential rain every year. It is high time the Commonwealth Government should seriously co-ordinate with the efforts of State Governments to consider constructing aqua ducts to transfer now wasted tropical rain water in the north of the country to the dry south and south west. There are, of course, numerous complicated issues involved but this will be part of the ultimate solution to our perennial drought due to global warming. The present piece meal and expensive measure of using desalination plants which are inefficient, not cost effective and create more green house gas is not a long term viable solution. Such huge infrastructure project would ideally form part of the Financial Tsunami rescue package that will also justify national borrowing because it will have endless enduring future benefits for the good of all future generations of citizens.

Let us pray and lend our support to the bushfire victims on their long & arduous road to full recovery if that is ever possible.

JKHC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXtf983QyWg&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGaXBZVMLZA&feature=channel_page