Don't be put off by fires, Australia tells tourists
Don't be put off by fires, Australia tells tourists
Published: 08:09 pm Jan 08, 2020
- Australia's monster fire death toll rises to 26 people
- Academic estimates one billion animals killed or injured
- Burnt area the size of South Korea, cities covered in smoke
- Prime minister pleads with international visitors to come
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced an A$11 million ($7.56 million) relief package while visiting Kangaroo Island.
- The three major cities in Australia's southeast, Sydney, Melbourne and the capital Canberra, were blanketed in thick smoke.
- Sixty-seven firefighters from the United States and Canada landed in Australia, joining 40 compatriots already on the ground. Australian authorities have requested another 140 personnel, who are expected in the next two weeks.
- A university of Sydney ecologist doubled his estimate of animals killed or injured in fires to 1 billion.
- Community leaders asked people to donate money instead of food and clothing because small communities are being overwhelmed by goods they do not need. Authorities also warned about online donation scams.
- Smoke has drifted across the Pacific, affected cities in South America, and may have reached the Antarctic, the UN World Meteorological Organization said.
- The fires have already emitted 400 megatonnes of carbon dioxide and produced harmful pollutants, the European Union's Copernicus monitoring programme said.
- Victoria Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville asked activists to 'reconsider' a planned protest on Friday, suggesting it would distract police from fire zones.
- * The group, Uni Students for Climate Justice, was undeterred, saying tens of thousands wanted to protest. 'Cops are not worried about resources, they are worried about people standing up against the government's inaction. The rallies on Friday are going ahead,' it said on Facebook.
- Moody's Analytics said the cost of fires could easily surpass the deadly 2009 Black Saturday fires that destroyed 450,000 hectares of land at an estimated toll of A$4.4 billion.
- There are 129 fires ablaze across New South Wales state, with around 65 uncontained. All the fires were at 'advice' level, the lowest alert. Victoria had 40 fires with 13 'watch and act' alerts.
- Prime Minister Morrison has pledged A$2 billion ($1.37 billion) to a new National Bushfire Recovery Agency.
- Britain's Prince Charles joined a list of global figures sending support, referring to the 'appalling horror unfolding in Australia' in a video.