warri0r45 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 RIP the photos and news footage were very devastating. Oh and I hope the arsonist/s get life in prison. I heard the fire swept through at up to 180km/h thanks to the wind and so people in their cars had no chance to escape. I don't know if that's true or not. I don't know about the exact figure, but 180km/hr is ballpark (if not a bit slower than that). By all accounts it moved incredibly fast and gave people little chance to escape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dax Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 106 people confirmed dead, at time of writing. Just horrible. No emoticon to describe this. (School is) Throwing a fundraiser on Friday to support the relief effort. Aiming for over $5000. Hope everyone is ok. So is our school. :thumbup: #KERR2016/17/18/19/20/21. #rpgformod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemathonical Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I reckon people would try to outrun the fire (I probably would've tried to too) only to find out that it has moved so fast it has overtaken you and you're trapped. It's just horrible. Police fear the toll wise rise over 300. Which is horrific.. ^Sir Jem 05-The Bunny Drinking Blog?^ Click it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I reckon people would try to outrun the fire (I probably would've tried to too) only to find out that it has moved so fast it has overtaken you and you're trapped. It's just horrible. Police fear the toll wise rise over 300. Which is horrific.. And they're still busy, so that figure is probable. The guys behind the fire should be tried for mass murder, there's no other reasonable charge. Still, two goddamn TOWNS torched. I was going to eat hot dogs for dinner tonight. I think I will settle for cereal. OPEN WIDE HERE COMES THE HELICOPTER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrash-boy Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 I'm not entirely up to date on the matter but how are so many dieing? Is it mostly firefighters getting trapped and then burned or slowly recovering bodies from the two destroyed towns? It's an extremely high figure for a disaster which can somewhat be avoided and predicted. i dont think any fire fighters have been killed. its mainly people staying to defend their homes in conditions where they stood no chance. they either then stayed and died in their homes, or fled at the last minute and died on the roads. Visibility on the roads is extremely minimal with all the smoke (you would be amazed), and a tree down, sharp turn or another obstacle would be almost certainly unavoidable. you either die in the high speed impact or crash, or survive it and get torched to death as the flames roll over the hill. Thats why your told if the fires catching up quickly and your on the roads to pull over, close all doors and windows, get down low and cover yourself in a woolen (or non synthetic) blanket. There was a picture on the news of a tree that had fallen down in the heat (gum trees lose limbs easily when its hot), and there were quite literally 5 or 6 cars piled up behind each other. they wouldn't have seen the stopped cars in front until it was too late (because of smoke) and would have plowed straight into the back of them. these kind of things arnt so predictable as you may think. one of the destroyed towns didnt even know the fire was coming untill the last minute, they thought the smoke was from one of the other fires. barely anyone did much to prepare to defend homes or pack their things to leave untill they saw the flames shooting over the hills, which by then is far too late, their as good as dead. fire travels extremely fast in hot dry conditions, faster than most people can run. when it hits the dry trees in forests it travels even faster. it burns so fast that it actually sucks the oxygen in around it, which makes it burn faster and hotter. this is known as a fire storm. it eventually gets so hot that the oils in the leaves of the trees evaporates, and explodes. fire then rolls over tree tops at astonishing speeds, feeding on oil from the leaves and dry vegetation, and sucking in its own oxygen. generally it cant be stopped, only contained and left to burn itself out. firestorms drag in so much oxygen that you will actually suffocate if you get to close to one, you will die (or at least be unconscious) from lack of oxygen before you die from the heat or flames. it was 170+ dead this morning, probebly alot more now. i wouldnt be suprised if it reaches 250 or 300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lv3god Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Current dead I've head 2 figures, an earlier 173 and later today 186 or so. 25M dollars raised so far :thumbsup: All the pics of the burnt out cars on the road demonstrates how fast it travelled. Definately a firestorm, not just any old bushfire. ~>St Jonno<~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warri0r45 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Current dead I've head 2 figures, an earlier 173 and later today 186 or so. 25M dollars raised so far :thumbsup: All the pics of the burnt out cars on the road demonstrates how fast it travelled. Definately a firestorm, not just any old bushfire. The amount of public support for this crisis has been amazing. I just finished watching the cricket, and apparently the match and all sponsor/player/fan donations associated with it raised 6 million dollars. I don't know if that's part of the 25 million, but it's just one demonstration of people coming together to help those who lost everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimesenior Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I can't believe it's gone so high... A few of my friends are missing, although we know they're alive they don't know where they are because we've had phone contact with them and their houses were destroyed... The remaining fires are near my house and I can smell smoke now, I don't think it'll get to my house though...Hopefully... :( Rudd was right about the arsonists though, it's mass murder, there's no punishment for these people, only the death sentence. :evil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomy Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Just watched the cricket, the donations were huge! If something like this happened in NZ we'd never get close to that amount of money. Too bad the arsonists didn't get caught in the blaze, that'd be a fitting end. Doomy edit: I like sheep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 holy...That many? Im curious to know how they would catch the arsonists, seeing as all evidence is obviously gone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoi_Tu Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 holy...That many? Im curious to know how they would catch the arsonists, seeing as all evidence is obviously gone... They can usually tell the point of origin and substance/tool (if any) used to start it. Beer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieMcD Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 holy...That many? Im curious to know how they would catch the arsonists, seeing as all evidence is obviously gone... Some fuels will actually leave a very slight trace, most notably the most commonly used such as petrol or lighter fluids. The vapors from them will most likely be stuck in the clothes if not destroyed and pollen of the local area stuck to the wheel arches of the car. That will give them enough evidence to secure a warrant for a polygraph test if they find a suspect matching said evidence which will then most likely lead to the crucial evidence. The biggest problem is, considering how remote the area is the only leads they'll have is eye witnesses, which are sadly very rare or well......quite possibly dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemathonical Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 2 more fires have been lit by arsonists. I hope they get caught, then rot in jail. ^Sir Jem 05-The Bunny Drinking Blog?^ Click it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azvareth Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I'm too tired to look through the entire thread again to see if this has been posted, but this has heaps of photos of the fires and their implications. Definitely gave me chills. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/0 ... trali.html Also, from Sky news (not sure how up-to-date this is however): Latest numbers 570 burns victims 78 admitted to hospital 20 in critical condition 181 is still the official number of dead, but this is still expected to rise Largest fire still burning is over an area of 100000ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I'm too tired to look through the entire thread again to see if this has been posted, but this has heaps of photos of the fires and their implications. Definitely gave me chills. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/0 ... trali.html Also, from Sky news (not sure how up-to-date this is however): Latest numbers 570 burns victims 78 admitted to hospital 20 in critical condition 181 is still the official number of dead, but this is still expected to rise Largest fire still burning is over an area of 100000ha 181... The arsonists must be pretty scared, I have a feeling they didn't really want anyone to get hurt. Stupid people. #-o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemathonical Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Police have arrested 2 suspects. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/750 ... fire-nixon Even if these aren't the arsonists, they might still have info on who did it. ^Sir Jem 05-The Bunny Drinking Blog?^ Click it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_burritos Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 You know some major Australian banks are actually keeping the mortgages on the houses. There still may be some hope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azvareth Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 You know some major Australian banks are actually keeping the mortgages on the houses. There still may be some hope That's great. Good to see that major businesses like that can show some compassion. While on the subject, donating money really helps. Here are some exciting links: The Red Cross http://www.redcross.org.au OR http://redcross.org.nz for NZ people The Salvation Army http://www.salvos.com.au OR https://secure.salvationarmy.org/ for Non-Aussie people (make sure you put Victoria Australia Bushfires in the specific use field!) Wildlife Victoria appeal. http://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/...apper&Itemid=43 Bendigo Bank Bushfire appeal. http://www.bendigobank.com.au/publi...ppeal_feb09.asp Country Fire Association http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/sup...a.htm#donations Click the link to find the details for your local regional office. The Only issue is that these offices are probably pretty busy right now. I just donated $20 to the Red Cross. Remember, every cent helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 You know some major Australian banks are actually keeping the mortgages on the houses. There still may be some hope That's great. Good to see that major businesses like that can show some compassion. While on the subject, donating money really helps. Here are some exciting links: The Red Cross http://www.redcross.org.au OR http://redcross.org.nz for NZ people The Salvation Army http://www.salvos.com.au OR https://secure.salvationarmy.org/ for Non-Aussie people (make sure you put Victoria Australia Bushfires in the specific use field!) Wildlife Victoria appeal. http://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/...apper&Itemid=43 Bendigo Bank Bushfire appeal. [ForbiddenSite].com.au/publi...ppeal_feb09.asp Country Fire Association http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/sup...a.htm#donations Click the link to find the details for your local regional office. The Only issue is that these offices are probably pretty busy right now. I just donated $20 to the Red Cross. Remember, every cent helps! Indeed. I donated around $15 since that's all I can afford at the moment. I was going to eat hot dogs for dinner tonight. I think I will settle for cereal. OPEN WIDE HERE COMES THE HELICOPTER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warri0r45 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Good work guys, thanks for the support. Good thinking with the links too Azvareth. Should've thought about that earlier. Anyway, my family will be donating soon. Just have to get dad's credit card. Donations have now reseached the 50 million dollar mark and will no doubt go higher when "Australia Unites" airs tonight on channel 9. I've probably said it before, but the response from the public has been nothing short of incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_burritos Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Just for some comparison. (From the article) Banks are being setup ad hoc, days after the disaster. After Katrina it took almost 8 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemathonical Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Australians are incredible. ^Sir Jem 05-The Bunny Drinking Blog?^ Click it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionheart_0 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I just donated some. There was a large report on this in local news yesterday. It looks terrible there :( Sig by IkuraiYour Guide to Posting! Behave or I will send my Moose mounted Beaver launchers at you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warri0r45 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I donated a bit last night as well. They raised a touch under 20 million dollars through last night's television appeal alone, bringing the total money donated to about 70 million. I'll have to check up on the figure exactly though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_burritos Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Major banks have donated a few million each. I gave $10. :| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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