In sak en as

Hier Doer Onner is dit die een ramp op die ander. Dit laat mense in die buiteland seker dink die hele land val uitmekaar. As jy egter in gedagte hou die land is 'n hele kontinent wat so groot is soos die VSA, dan is dit soos om te sê 'n vloed in Mosambiek het iets te doen met Windhoek.

Na helfte van Queensland weggespoel (of weggewaai) het laas week, het die brande nou hier in Perth uitgebreek, terwyl Victoria nog steeds vloede ervaar.

Hier net Oos van Perth le so bergreeksie wat bekend staan as “The Hills”. Dis nie veel van ‘n berg nie - as jy nou van Windhoek of Kaapstad af kom is ‘n berg ‘n ding wat jy van ver af kan sien. Maar dit is die enigste iets hier rond wat soos ‘n berg lyk. Die Hills area is baie mooi, die mense bly in groot huise in die koppe met woude reg rondom hulle. Daar is baie koffiewinkels, plantewinkeltjies en organic shops en sulke arty-farty winkels. Die area is egter reg in die bos, en staan altyd groot gevaar om aan die brand te slaan. Hier in die geweste is dit bitter droog, geen nat weer soos in Queensland nie. As jy hard nies slaan die veld sommer aan die brand.

Gister oggend het ek na die radio geluister. Op 720AM radio word die hele brand in detail gevolg en verduidelik. Wat gister oggend gebeur het, was egter nogal skokkend. Hulle het die vorige dag al mense opdrag gegee om hulle huise te verlaat, en paaie is afgeblok om te keer dat hulle teruggaan. Dit beteken baie mense het slegs geweet daar is 'n brand in hulle woonbuurt, maar hulle mag nie na hulle huise toe gaan om te gaan kyk nie.

Een van die waarskuwings wat hulle oor die radio gee is "you need to leave now, or prepare to defend your property." Nie iets wat mens graag wil hoor nie.

Die volgende oggend kom almal in een of ander saal bymekaar, meeste van hulle weet nie of hulle huise nog staan nie. 'n Ou lees een vir een die huisadresse af, en sê dan wat die skade is.

124 so-and-so street - 100% damage

13 whatever road - 100% damage

So gaan hy aan.

Dink jou dit in as jy in daai saal moet sit en wag vir jou adres om gelees te word.

Ek het hierna gesit en luister terwyl dit gebeur, en mens kan nie help om ‘n knop in jou keel te kry vir hierdie arme mense nie. 

Meer as 70 huise het afgebrand, alles omdat iemand met 'n grinder gewerk het en in die proses die veld aan die brand gesteek het. Hier was 'n "total fire ban" - een van daai goed wat beteken jy mag nie braai nie - jy moet liewer "barbie" met gas. Dit beteken ook dat jy nie met implemente soos grinders mag werk in 'n oop area nie.

Mens kan sien hoekom hulle nie altyd hou van die braaivleis-vure nie.

Die regering hier is baie vinnig om mense te help, en die WA staatsregering het reeds vanoggend in die koerant genoem dat mense die volgende vergoeding sal kry:

Mr Barnett declared the Roleystone fire scene a natural disaster area but added the fact no lives had been lost was a blessing.

“On behalf of the WA Government and the people of this State I do extend my sincere sympathy to those people who have lost their homes.

“The stress, the trauma of this will go on for some time,” he said.

“There has been no loss of life. There have been three admissions to hospital through smoke inhalation and very unfortunately one volunteer firefighter was quite severely injured in a vehicle accident yesterday.”

“Whilst the level of funding is still being assessed, it is important for people to be aware early that the State Government will stand with them to ensure they get the assistance they deserve,” Mr Barnett said.

He said the Government would also provide immediate financial help to people affected by the fire.

“Families will be able to get immediate access to assistance through the Department for Child Protection,” Mr Barnett said.

The Premier made $3000 immediately available to those who had lost homes while those whose homes were damaged could apply for $1000

Dis seker nie veel nie, maar ek is seker dit help.

Hier is ‘n foto wat NASA uit die lug uit geneem het van die twee brande in Perth.  Jy kan die Hills sien soos wat dit van bo na onder loop in die regterkant van die foto:

Life without engineering

Yikes.  During my previous post I made a few insensitive jokes about Cyclone Bianca, as it did not really have any impact on Perth.  But on the other side of the continent, cyclone Yasi has been raging like an angry dictator with bad indigestion.

This mother of a storm was a category 5 cyclone and caused a lot of havoc around those parts.

The amazing part of this story is the fact that no one was seriously injured or killed during this storm so far, apart from a man who was killed by the fumes of a generator in his room. 

This is all due to the fact that there was enough early warning and that people had enough time to prepare for the worst.  Right across the world everyone was watching expectantly.

Imagine in the old days when the only warning you had was the birds that disappeared and the ants that started going Rambo on you.  According to some of my friends over East, on the day Yasi reached the continent, it was still a clear bright sunny morning and you would have thought it to be a great day to hang around the beach.

All this early warning is due to modern technology and the marvels of electronic engineering, combined with a few other sciences of course.  Without the reliable instruments and communication systems no one would have known what was coming.  Without the satellite footage and the radar images, combined with pressure, wind and temperature measurements this would have been a disaster and thousands would probably have been killed. 

Without great communication tools like radio, TV, phones and the internet, people out in the country would have been sleeping with the barn windows open when the cyclone hit.  We would have seen a lot more flying cows and a few people would have thought their mother-in-law turned into a witch because she was flying around on a tree trunk.

All thanks to the geeky nerds who became engineers and scientists.  Those same geeks who were bullied by the redneck jerks in school now saved those same brainless muscled idiots.  They always win in the end.

Unfortunately there was a huge material loss for many people.  Farmers lost crops and people lost their homes and cars.  People’s jobs and sources of income were wiped out over night.  Not a laughing matter at all.

But thanks to engineering, it was not as bad as it could have been.

Unfortunately this also means that these climate change nuts will gain a lot of support with their fear-mongering.  They still seem to think that man can actually control weather like this.  All of this was apparently caused by my 3.8 liter V6 engine guzzling fossil fuels and spewing carbon dioxide into the air.

I’ll think about that while I drive out to the beach this afternoon.