At 2/8/09 06:37 AM, HungarianSupermarket wrote:
I reckon everyone in high-risk areas should get the fuck out and not try to play some heroic shit to try and save their house. A life is so much more fucking important.
The policy that has been around for decades is to have a fire plan, and that if you don't wish to stay and defend your house you should leave early. Usually this is a good system, however the fires this year were unusually powerful. I have seen footage of car wheels that have melted from the radiant heat and solidified as frozen rivers of metal along the ground. And i have heard reports of people leaving their houses early, but still being outrun by the fires. The fact is that due to record high temperatures, high winds and very dry landscapes due to drought has caused fires that are the worst we have ever seen.
From what i understand, it would not have been possible for an evacuation of all the danger zones, because that would mean evacuating over a million people. my understanding is that not evacuating saved lives, as there would have been more people caught on the roads by the fire. however, obviously the current system is not sufficient, which is why the government has ordered a royal commission to investigate the most effective way to deal with the increasingly powerful bushfires which accompany a changing climate.
As for the arsonists, the last i heard they are closing in on atleast one suspect for fires in the gippsland area. for non-australians who are curious, no we do not have the death penalty anymore and haven't for a number of decades.
personally, even if we did have the death penalty i would prefer the arsonists get life in prison. with the death penalty they would only have to live with what they did for a few months before they were executed. they might not even feel remorse in that time. with life in prison they would have the rest of their lives to think about the emotional and physical pain they caused to all the victims of the fires.
If anyone wants to know how they can help the victims, the australian red cross is taking donations. i have friends in some of the areas that have been hit by fires who i haven't heard from yet, but im hoping that theyre all okay and that my donation can help them or somebody else in a similar position.
