Fire & Floods

Just when you think your beloved country has experienced enough disaster, the bad news continues! My home of Australia is being hit by a deluge of disastrous events that seem to continue.
The awful weather pattern of flooding and cyclone that destroyed much of Queensland had slowly crept down south since the report of my last blog. At first it effected outlying suburbs and country areas. It is now a widespread event that has effected the capital city of Melbourne, Victoria. I have emails from dear friends who say that their backyards are a "swimming pool" - cars are overflowing with inches of water. One of my buddies, Michelle came out to her car one morning swamped with water on the inside to the tune of a few inches. St Kilda Road, the main tree lined artery leading into the city from the south is a SWAMP. Glenferrie Road, a busy inner suburb shopping street was knee high in water as was Chapel St, Prahran. I see endless photographs of flooded homes, roads, stores, parks and gardens. We have just experienced some 'years' of hefty water restrictions and the inconceivable thought of no water; now our city is flooded causing much more grief. My best friend sent me photos of her parents home in Mildura with knee deep water. Luckily is didn't come into their home but it did reach the front steps. Apparently all the grape crops are destroyed in the area. In other areas such as KooWeeRup all the asparagus and broccoli crops are GONE! As one of my dear friends wrote, "Bianca, this is getting really scary!" There is more predicted.

Whilst Queensland is still reeling from the destruction and Melbourne is beginning her mop up, Perth on the western coast has two HUGE out of control bush fires in the north east of the city, only 20 kilometres from the city centre. Over 60 homes have been destroyed and 100's partially burnt. The blaze at Red Hill has burnt through 750 hectares since it started. Gusts of up to 75 kilometres an hour are fuelling the flames, as 150 firefighters work to protect homes in Baskerville, Brigadoon, Millendon and Herne Hill. They have called it Black Sunday!

.........to add insult to injury Sydney has just sweltered through a record 7 days of 35 plus degree heat. (thats virtually 100 degrees in Fahrenheit)

Frankly, in all my years of living in Australia, I have never seen so much destruction in such a confined period of time. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night and turning my computer on wondering how my home is surviving and praying this bad news subsides.

Photos in stark contrast below:- Perth; flames and the smoking City of Swan area.
Melbourne; flooded roads in the city centre area.