|
We had a very serious and horribly scary bushfire here 5 years ago and 500 homes were destroyed in the process. I was working in the evacuation centre which saw over 3000 people trek through the doors and then had to be evacuated in the process. In our case, we were not well warned that it was coming and it took out whole streets - there was nothing that people could do to protect themselves although many homes were saved because there were people out there hosing down the roofs and putting out embers that got onto the eaves. This was pretty extreme for Aus and it was one of those unstoppable fires. We do have packages in bushfire season which tell you about clearing the land around your home, clearing stuff up against your house, getting a water pump etc etc. All such things are common sense and common practice out in the bush but in the cities, like ours, we have tended to expect the fire brigade and Rural Fire Service to come and fix things. We are all hoping that this was a once in a lifetime experience!
As for water - our dams are at 46% and we have water restrictions which stop you hosing your car or outside areas, allow you to water by hand only on certain days etc. Some small towns were on the verge of having to have water trucked in at the end of last year but fortunately the rain fell for a little while and the dams filled up again. They talk about 4 minute showers but that aint going to happen in my future but I know that is one way that people save water. Many homes have water tanks - we have a big one off the garage which is for drinking and watering the garden. Others do a lot of grey water collection and use that for their gardens.
Bushfires havent killed that many people (fingers crossed and wood touched), the biggest danger is still driving on our roads.
|