As you’re almost certainly aware, the State of Victoria is in devastation today after some of the country’s worst ever bushfires have ravaged through the country, killing at least 108 people, destroying 750 homes and burning over 330,000 hectares of country. Obviously, our thoughts go out to those who have battled and are continuing to battle the ongoing flames, but for those of you who are either waiting for news, worried about loved ones or just curious about the magnitude of this natural disaster, Google has created a flash map of the Victorian fires, taking the latest information from the Country Fire Authority’s RSS feed. The map shows where the fires are occurring, whether they are contained, controlled or still burning, and are a stark reminder just how huge this disaster has been.
On a side note, over the weekend the CFA, VicRoads and Department of Sustainability and Environment websites were all struggling to meet the demand of people visiting their sites for information. So please, don’t visit these sites to rubberneck – only go there if you happen to be one of the Victorians concerned about losing your home.
poedgirl
February 9, 2009 at 12:02 PM
According to every news source I’ve heard, this is anything but a natural disaster. This is Arson.
Report PermalinkDazzaJay
February 9, 2009 at 6:32 PM
Here is a Government made map, that updates frequentley, it shows details such as how many hectares the fire is burning, and other stuff like that.
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fires/updates/report/index2.htm
And yes, if the police dont get the fucks that lit these fires before most other people, they probably wont be alive for a trial.
Report PermalinkAnna Rafferty
February 9, 2009 at 11:44 PM
the death toll is up to 131 dead and expected to double as they search houses.
The arson is is MASS MURDER!!
Report PermalinkMartin Dolan
February 10, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Those maps are good for those of us geographically challenged. As the fires are 10 min drive from my house, I hope the wind doesn’t pick up again like on Saturday. This is all rather numbing and shocking…
Report PermalinkJizza
February 10, 2009 at 2:19 PM
The people responsible for these fires do not deserve a trial, or the light sentences usually handed down. They need to be set on fire, pissed on to put them out and when they finally stop screaming from the pain (hopefully after a few weeks of agony) the process should be repeated. Give the matches to the poor people who have lost everything and let them get the justice on these arsonists.
Report PermalinkRichard Merrell
February 11, 2009 at 10:30 PM
One needs ask, why does Victoria hold the record for the number of deaths from Bushfires? Resources from the NSW Rural Fire Service should have been in Victoria weeks ago. CFA bureaucrats and the Victorian Govt need to learn that a protocol for getting help from other States should be normal. Factors of temperature and winds that cause such firestorms were known way ahead of time and evacuations could have been done, and lives saved. Looks like no lessons were learned from the Canberra fires
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