black saturday bushfires essay

A natural disaster is defined as “Any event or force of nature that has catastrophic consequences” (***). This report investigates the Black Saturday Bushfires that consumed Victoria and its surrounding areas on the 7th of February 2009; examining the extent of its impact on both the community and the land. Black Saturday wrote itself into Victoria’s history with unprecedented weather conditions; creating the environmental conditions that permitted the day’s events. The scale and ferocity of such

Bushfires are common occurrences within Australia, with each summer an average of 54,000 burning across the country, but this one in particular took a higher toll than previous bushfires. On the 7th of February 2009 a series of devastating bushfires burned across several townships in Victoria. The flames claimed 173 lives, injured 500, destroyed over 2000 homes and injured or killed millions of wildlife. This day became known as Black Saturday. Different individuals and community groups who were

when in the classroom. Part A The first experience I had was travelling through an area called Baynton about 100kms north east of Melbourne early in 2009. It was about 6 weeks after the Black Saturday bushfires devastated the whole region, driving through was incredibly eerie and unsettling. Everything was black and charred, in the paddocks there was no grass, no fences, all the trees were burnt trunks, no foliage at all was present. There were no animals grazing in the paddocks, no wildlife was

Black Saturday was a series of bushfires that occurred on Saturday, 7th of February, 2009. It was one of the most devastating bushfires in Australian history, and changed many Victorian lives forever. Three years later, the communities are rebuilding, the landscape is healing and flora and fauna are returning. Causes of Black Saturday On the day of Black Saturday, over 400 individual fires were recorded and this was due to extreme bushfire-weather conditions. Preceding Black Saturday, Victoria

Black Saturday is one of the most horrific natural disasters in Australian history. With over 172 dead, 414 injured, 1.07 billion dollars paid by insurance companies, 20,030 houses and 3,500 buildings completely destroyed within seven weeks. The bushfire ignited on February the 7th and ended on the March the 15th 2009, lasting to an estimated 37 days. The bushfires had an immediate effect and completely wiped out towns off national maps, some resurrected with the building and endurance of communities

known in Australia as bushfires, are a frequent and often devastating occurrence in Australian life. With bushfires come numerous adverse effects on an individual, and the country as a whole. Loss of life, property damage, water supply issues, and economic impact are all byproducts of bushfires. In fact, bushfires have accounted for over 800 deaths in Australia since 1851 and the total accumulated cost of damage is estimated at $1.6 billion. Because of these factors, bushfires have become an unavoidable

natural disaster being declared. WHAT IS BUSHFIRE Bushfires are a common natural hazard that Australia has adapted to. Through this burning that occurs, Australian fauna and flora have adapted to the ways of bushfires. These fires spread at a fast rate and in many instances cause a devastating effect on communities and the land. Weather Weather can primarily decide whether a bushfire is small or large. According to the conditions the area has prior to a bushfire decides the growth and beginning of the

fires of Black Saturday. The analysis can be applied to future events and other communities as it shows what caused the fire to occur, why so many individuals were affected, and what can be changed in order to reduce the impacts of large scale bushfires to the environment and nation. Communities need to be informed of bushfires through education so that younger generations can be fully aware of the circumstances they are living in and the risks associated with continually living in a bushfire prone

When considering what results in a higher magnitude bushfire, it is also important to consider the longer term events leading up to the disaster. Figure 11 illustrates that the weather events that occurred before leading up to Black Saturday can be strongly linked to the large amount of destruction caused. From both figures, it can be noted that a wind change affected the path and development of fires. In the case of Black Saturday, this extended the fire front, increasing the magnitude of the disaster

- Heatwaves: The weather conditions on Black Saturday were some of the worst weather conditions ever recorded. In the weeks preceding the bushfires, there had been a series of exceptional heatwaves in south-eastern Australia and particularly Victoria. The heatwave that accompanied the bushfires on the day broke records. Much of Victoria, including Melbourne and 20 other centres registered unprecedented maximum temperatures. Melbourne reached 46.4° Celsius, the highest in 154 years of record keeping