Ash Wednesday Bushfires

The many natural hazards that have occurred over the years have alter from cycl 1s to droughts, however bush nurtures argon the main hazard Australia is prone to. A bush squeeze out is an off-of-control exhaust that flip ones lids bush, forest and woodland areas. Australia has had a considerable number of dubious bushfires, the change Wednesday Bushfires of 1983 is one of Australias most devastating.THE LOCATIONOver one b unkept fires broke out between February 16th-18th 1983, eight of which were major fires. These fires swept crossways regions of VictoJ.Dimovskiria and South Australia causing widespread damage. Figure 1 below is a map of capital of Seychelles, the red representing where the fires were formed. The eight major fires were started in the following areas of Victoria* Cudgee, B altogetherangeich and Framilingham* East Trentham and Mt Macedon* Otways* Belgrave heights and Upper Beaconsfield* Monivale* Branxholme* Warburton and* CockatooGEOGRAPHICAL PROCESSESCAUSE SAn ignition cremate point is needed for a bushfire to start. This ignition is caused naturally by lightning strikes or by a deliberate/accidental flame for example arson, camp out fires or carless behavior. Most of the Ash Wednesday fires were caused by an accidental ignition, for example in Cudgee, Mt Macedon, Monivale and Branxholme. The suspected cause for these fires was the clashing of electrical powerlines with tree branches.Bushfires squirt be influenced by several operators. It is primarily the weather conditions and geographical processes that range the behaviour and spread of a fire.Drought plays an essential part in the surround desiccating determining the spread of a bushfire. Due to lack of rainfall, flora such as dry grasses, parched native shrubs and other combustible material materials build up and become fuel for the fire to burn. Before the Ash Wednesday fires Victoria suffered 10 months severe drought.The relative humidness besides cores in the right cli matic conditions for a bushfire to occur. If the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere is than 20%, it can cause forest fuels to dry out and become highly flammable. The relative humidity of Victoria was exceedingly low in the months leading to the bushfires. At one stage Melbournes relative humidity reached as low as 6% compared to the usual 43%. This factor greatlycontributes to increasing the speed of the fire.High temperatures are necessary for a fire to occur. Hot air from high temperatures is responsible for helping to pooh-pooh the moisture content of forest plant life, making the fuel more flammable. February 1983 was one of the hottest and driest Februarys on record, with temperatures reaching a record 46.1 degrees Celcius.Wind plays a major role in the spread of fires. High crests provide the fires with oxygen to burn resulting in larger and stronger flames. In addition wind can withal cause spot fires by blowing embers downwind. The wind movement on February 16 als o resulted in many fires merging.Weather conditions such as refrigerant front lines also produce severe bushfire conditions. In southern Australia moth-eaten fronts are common and dramatically affect bushfires. Figure 2 shows the cold front as it headed towards Victoria on February 16.When a cold front passes, the wind direction will change about 90 degrees and will also cause very hot, dry winds. Figure 3 and 4 illustrates the cold front changing the direction of the fire, causing the long side of the fire to suddenly become the front.WHY IS THE LOCATION PRONEVictoria is prone to the hazard of bushfires because during summer and autumn Victoria experiences hot, dry climate which causes the vegetation to dry out. Victorias forests mainly consist of Eucalyptus trees, which contain large amounts of fossil oil making these forests highly flammable. Southern Australia also experiences strong winds in summer, which result in increasing the damage of the fire. Figure 6 on the leftove r shows the areas of Australia that are prone to bushfires.IMPACTSThe impacts of a hazard when it strikes a town or region can be very dramatic. The impacts can be categorize into environmental, economic and social impacts.ENVIRONMENTALThe Ash Wednesday fires caused widespread damage to the environment burning over 210,000 square hectares of Victorian land in ingrained and 21,000 in South Australia. The land burnt Dandenong National Park, the Wombat State Forest, pine plantations and the Otways Forest.Although the Ash Wednesday bushfires regenerated the bushland they caused extensive damage to native habitats and also resulted in the ending and injury of many animals. The fires also caused changes to biodiversity levels, high levels of erosion, disrupted the water spirit in local streams and waterways and also released thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.Figure 7 shows the CFA rehydrating a koala that survived the fire.ECONOMICThe economic impacts caused by the Ash Wednesday bushfires were very large. It non only affected the local communities but also the whole of Australia. The rack up cost of property related damage in Victoria was estimated at over $200 million. In addition the damage to valuable whole step in state areas and timber plantations was estimated at over $50 million. every together the cost of damage was over $950 million. A large legal age of individuals experienced property loss and many were not insured against bushfire indeed muzzy all their life savings. Even those who were insured did not fuck off everything back from insurance agencies and had to make do with what they were given.Figure 8 on the right shows the large areas burnt by the firesSOCIAL IMPACTSThe Ash Wednesday bushfires brought death, demolition and hardship on peoples lives. Many people were not prepared for a bushfire of that degree. It was the biggest fire Victoria had seen and took many by surprise. The number of casualties was 75 inc luding 13 CFA fire-fighters and many more were injured. There was also the loss of over 2,000 residential homes in Victoria and in South Australia 383 more. Figure 9 on the left is a photograph showing a street of houses all burnt down. The impact of the fires was very difficult on individuals, especially the ones the lost friends and family members in the fires. There were also many health problems caused by the fires, twain mental and physical. These health problems were caused from stress, smoke inhalation, asthma attacks and the trauma sustained.It was just this flaming(a) great force. It wasnt fire by itself. It wasnt just the wind. It was something different to thata the Tempter was a rehearsal made by John Baxter. The above statement shows how many residents may have reacted or felt about the fires. affirmable STRATEGIESTo protect Victoria and the environment from another disastrous bushfire, some way strategies need to be implemented. These could include* Local residents should remove any fire prone objects in and around the home for example clearing leaves in gutters and raking and discarding dried leaves around fire seasons.* An education and awareness program could be developed to inform people on the risks on living in fire prone areas. Topics should include how and why people die in bushfires, how to insure their homes against fires and prevention measures.* A expostulate withing system should implemented to warn the community on incoming fires. To supplement this an evacuation drill should be put in place so the local communities know what to do in the case of a bushfire.* Local communities should become more mired in forest management and conservation to ensure the future protection of the environment for future generations.