Major Emergency Declared as Wildfires Devour Homes in S. Australia

CLIMATE CHANGE DISASTERS
EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS
MAJOR EMERGENCY DECLARED
RISING TEMPERATURES
DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES
MASS EVACUATIONS
LOSS OF HABITAT
LOSS OF CROPS & LIVESTOCK
SCENARIOS 900, 800, 555, 444, 111, 101, 100, 080, 071, 070, 03, 02
.

Thousands flee their homes in S Australia as massive blaze burns towards multiple communities

Dozens of homes are feared lost as a massive out-of-control fire burning on multiple fronts threatens lives and property in the state of  South Australia.

The city of Adelaide Hills [Population: ~ 30,000] remains siege as the 10,000-hectare out-of-control Sampson Flat fire in the Mount Lofty Ranges threatens dozens of communities, reported ABC Australia.

A major emergency has been declared, with the fire conditions described as the worst since Ash Wednesday in 1983, when a monster blaze killed more than 75 people in the states of South Australia and Victoria and destroyed 2,300 homes.

In February 2009, the so-called “Black Saturday” bushfires claimed 173 lives and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria. A total of 12 bushfires are burning out of control across Victoria, comprising about 26 blazes,  covering up to 225,000 hectare of land.

 

Sampson Flat fire front in the Adelaide Hills approaches goats and geese in a field. Photo from firefighter Eugene Klaebe taken on January 3, 2015. User submitted: Eugene Klaebe/ via ABC (au)

2013 confirmed as Australia’s hottest year on record: Australia BoM

• Average temperatures were 1.20°C above the long-term average of 21.8°C, breaking the previous record set in 2005 by 0.17°C.
• All states and territories recorded above average temperatures in 2013, with Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia breaking their previous annual average temperature records.