When Disaster Strikes Close to Home
February 26, 2009
We are all used to disasters. Modern communications bring images of disaster from all over the world, directly to our living rooms, as they happen. You would think this relentless exposure to the cruelty of both man and nature would prepare us for when disaster strikes close to home. It doesn’t.
Saturday, February 7, 2009 was a hot day in Victoria. Unbelievably hot. As they had the week before, temperatures ramped up to levels three and four degrees higher than had been recorded in any previous year. That’s the meteorological equivalent of taking a full second off the 100m sprint record.
These temperatures combined with hellish winds, dry air and an already baked countryside to create the most bushfire conducive circumstances in living memory. Read the rest of this entry »
