HIGHLIGHTED NEWS

By Aryo Setyotama The Australian Forest Fires in New South Wales and Victoria

Source : https://www.abc.net.au/

The year of 2020 has been a year full of human security issues. One issue that has garnered the full attention of the world is the deadly outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that began in China around the start of the year and spread into numerous other countries becoming a full-on pandemic. However, there are also many other issues around the world which have occurred throughout the year - the Australian forest fires being one of them.

The forest fires plaguing Australia started as far back as September 2019 and have been raging on until January 2020. Authorities reported that at least 27 million acres of land have been lost due to these raging fires. According to sources, such as Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), bushfires are often the result of a combination of both the weather, terrain and the vegetation, where lightning strikes usually start fires, whilst the vegetation act as fuel for the fire. Furthermore, the terrain often contributes to the spread of the fire to nearby areas. However, at times fires are also the results of human activities of accidental or even deliberate nature.

Forest fires have caused the deaths of at least 25 people, with some of these casualties amongst firefighters who were on active duty in attempts to contain the raging fires. In addition to the loss of lives claimed by the fire, the disaster has also destroyed almost 2000 houses. New South Wales officials have claimed that as much as 1.588 houses within the state have been destroyed and a further 653 more damaged. Meantime, the neighboring Victoria state authorities stated that around 200 homes were destroyed.

At times Australia has had a problem regarding people being homeless and the recent forest fires have unfortunately made this case worse. Amid the Australian fires tens of thousands of Australians have become homeless due the loss of their homes. This is a considerable added burden as in the previous year the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare had just recorded a total number of 300,000 people being homeless.

Unfortunately, the forest fires had also caused the area to be filled with dense smoke and ash, becoming a health hazard for the population and animals that live in affected areas. As a result many were forced to abandon their homes to seek refuge away from the environmental dangers brought about by the fires. Many victims became temporarily homeless in the process.

Around late January, the fires have eventually been contained due to the efforts of involved emergency forces. In addition, torrential rain in that season had helped to extinguish more than 30 fires around Australia. In the aftermath of the fire, many began to question the possible effects those fires might have upon the climate, experienced by Australia. Perhaps, this may be a sign of things to come in the future.