Bushfires in southeast Australia are a frequent event, but those of early 2009 were catastrophic. There were many reasons for the fires but the extreme weather was a major cause. It is thought that events such as these may become more frequent in a planet experiencing climate change.
At least 173 people died as the worst bushfires in living memory swept through the state of Victoria, to the north and east of Melbourne, on 7 February 2009 — aday that has become known as Black Saturday. The fires injured a further 500 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and torched 400,000 hectares of land. For several weeks, firefighters continued to battle against the blazes at ground level, assisted by bulldozers (to build firebreaks) and water-bombing helicopters. Fire crews from other states and countries were called in to assist them.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe