Not only human lives are affected by this disaster...

Hi all,

I think I am a pretty good contact. I don’t send many silly forwards or mean chain letters and never sign myself and others up for spamming opportunities. But just this once I am shouting out to all the non-Australian contacts I have for one reason: help.

Unless you live under a rock with no tv or internet access, you will have been following the bushfire stories coming out of Australia the last couple of weeks. Last Saturday, which has been unofficially named “Black Saturday” has been the worst day so far with 100 separate fires raging through the state of Victoria and the end is still not immediately in sight.

At last count today, there have been 181 lives lost with numbers expected to increase when authorites are able to go back into the firestruck towns and assess the full scale of the loss. I have heard many people say “How on earth could people have died, they should have been aware in plenty of time that a fire was coming.” These people are unaware that the current fires ravaging Victoria are the largest, fastest moving and most venemous bushfires Australia has ever experienced. And regardless of whether the fires have been purposely lit or if they have occured due to human error, this is a disaster – the worst this country has ever seen. A National Day of Mourning will soon be declared by our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.

• 181 dead and counting
• 500 injured and counting
• 1800 homes destroyed and counting
• 7000 people left homeless and counting

15 fires are still burning and the weather this February, the hottest month of summer in Australia, will be doing little to help the effort this weekend. Last weekend saw temperatures in the 50 degrees area. It is expected to be almost as warm this weekend with the addition of an easterly wind and more evacuations will be taking place.

Sometimes it is hard for people to donate to charities as the problems are so far away. For most of you, this problem is as far away as it could get – the other side of the world. But this is MY home country and this is a disaster. I realise, especially in the current economic climate, that money is tight for everyone right now. I have done my part and donated as much as I could to the cause and the only way I can further help is to spread the word. The pound might be weak but the dollar is weaker. At the moment .45p buys AU$1.00. If you can’t currently donate, I would ask that you forward this on to others that might be able to. Every little bit helps. To donate, follow the link below. http://www.redcross.org.uk/TLC.asp?id=90896

Thank you for reading this. Hoping you are all well and safe.

Kate xo