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vstuart
Community Member

Australia wildfires

I'm not sure how many of you are affected by the wildfires but my thoughts and prayers are with you all.  I have a great client in the Sydney area that I have not heard from, not that we had anything open at the moment, but we do normally converse, at least once a week, as we've become friends.  I've sent a message checking on him, he normally will reply, but it's been silence (highly unusual, even if he is away).  I'm still, however, assuming (and hoping!) that he and his family left for the holidays and that he has just not checked his messages, but, by design, I'm very concerned.  Anybody in the Sydney area that can give me an actual update of how things are in that area?  The media doesn't always give accurate details (living in a hurricane prone area, most are constantly worried about me, and I'm like, I'm fine!!!!...usually.) . Again, I hope anyone in this situation is safe and far from the devastation and I'm definitely not trying to downplay it, just trying to get insight and send my well wishes and concern to all.  Appreciate any replies.  

11 REPLIES 11
petra_r
Community Member

vstuart
Community Member

Did I mention that I was not?  I was looking for information, but thanks Petra. 

mwiggenhorn
Community Member

I suspect that communications lines are jammed, making communication difficult.  We had that problem in New Orleans after Katrina for a couple of months - cell phone lines were crashing and communication was almost impossible.  I ended  up in Dallas and the only way friends could contact me was to call a friend of mine in Dallas, who would then call me with the message.  We all learned to text then, but everything was scrambled.  Probably the same thing in Sydney.

Thanks Mary.  I was in the path of Irma, similar situation, it was a struggle to get info out to friends and family, outside communication was nearly impossible for several weeks (even with a cell phone, there was no way to charge it and with the little charge that was left, service was spotty. I was able to get a few messages out after the storm had gone through, but after that, it was weeks of clean up and silence).  I'm hoping that's the situation and that he's fine (or as fine as he can be in this situation).  

lysis10
Community Member

The hell of driving from South Florida to Atlanta to escape Irma was the catalyst for my move out of Florida. God that sucked so hard. My poor little Corgi had to sit in this crunched up little spot in my car for 24 hours. She's the real trooper.

 

OP, there is probably a Sydney sub on reddit where you can read stories.

vstuart
Community Member

Oh yeah, it sure wasn't a fun time.  If I had to do it over again I'd have booked it out of here too.  I'm no longer a fan of camping in any way, shape or form, lol, and I'm fairly certain my dog still hates me, she couldn't understand why we couldn't cool off 😞  Still getting the evil eye for that one...

 

Yep, that's certainly a long trip, especially when you're dodging it - glad you and your baby made it out safe!  Were you on the East or West coast?

 

Thanks for the tip on the reddit, I'll check it out!

In the early 2000's, my daughter and SIL evacuated from New Orleans to Houston.  What is a normal 4 hour drive took 21 hours.  What a nightmare - and the storm never hit.

Yikes, that's terrible!  

luigic2020
Community Member

The fires are certainly terrible. As far as Sydney itself goes, the areas on the outskirts are high risk at times and it varies a lot based on temperature and wind direction. This is also a time of year when people are just starting to get back into action, so I wouldn't worry unduly about your client.

 

I live in Auckland and we have had some very hazy days (including yesterday) and one day when it went quite dark about 3 PM and stayed that way for the rest of the day which was eerie and we are over 2,000km away from the nearest fires.

 

This is certainly a devastating experience for our Aussie neighbors and we have no idea how much worse it will get. On top of that, each of the last year's has brought new heat records, so the worry isn't just about this summer (and the warmest times haven't arrived yet) but most years going forward. 

 

It's great to see so many fundraising activities and volunteer firefighters arriving from around the world. Hopefully, the funds get to the right people, when and where they need it.

 

 

I have friends and family down under. Thankfully they are OK, but are aware that they could be affected if/when it happens again. I feel for all those that have lost their homes, and loved ones, and I hate to think of all the animals that have suffered. 

Bushfires are in Australia are common, but these are unprecedented as they have been fuelled by a different mechanism than usual. Forests have been burning that would usually remain untouched. It is a wake up call that we need to act but, unfortunately, too few people in power seem interested.

Kudos to the country and its government. This is an extinction-level event in miniature, and is being handled marvelously. In the USA, accepting help from other countries always runs ito one political problem or another. I'm in awe that Australia has the sense to say "Thank you, please help here." This is a model for the world, because we all need help sometime.

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