Bushfire

Close to 200 bushfires ignited in Australia in early October 2019. They torched nearly 15 million acres of land and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in the states of Victoria and New South Wales along the country’s eastern and southern seaboard. Twenty-four people lost their lives, and an estimated one…

news, environment, Billions of dollars would be saved if Australia spotted and tackled new bushfires earlier, according to new research published by the Australian National University. Even starting to tackle fires half an hour earlier would save $8.2 billion over the next 30 years,. The ANU researchers looked at three…

Too many Australians are ill-prepared to face another bushfire season, with more than one in three (35 per cent) revealing they have done nothing to get ready, the Red Cross has warned.Read More

Iggy Pop's cockatoo has been named a charity ambassador. The bird - named Biggy Pop - was invited to become the “founding patron” of the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital in Australia, and gladly accepted. The charity is attempting to help Australian wildlife recover from the devastating bushfires, which killed over…

Ronnie Scott lost his wife when she tried to to rescue their dog and cat from floodwaters in West Virginia in 2016. Carole Duncan almost lost her 83-year-old father during Australia’s massive 2019 bushfires, the firefighters finding him just in time. KerryAnn Laufer returned home days after the 2019 Kincade…

Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt has said ANU “is reporting for duty again”, as Australia looks to recover from devastating bushfires and meet the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic.The comments come as ANU marks the 74th year since its founding as Australia’s only national university on 1 August 1946.Speaking at…

A looming eviction crisis is rising across South Australia as the economic impacts of a summer of bushfires and COVID-19 leave both landlords and renters in dire financial situations. Read More

Australia's tourism industry is reeling with the impacts of the summer's bushfires COVID-19 restrictions, with warnings domestic tourism may not fill the void left by foreign tourists.Key points:The Tourism Export Council warns that without assistance and borders reopening some operators are facing closureJobs in the tourism sector fell by three…

Australia needs a national database of soil information to better prepare for the effects of future intense bushfires, according to a group of experts.Key points:Last summer's bushfires ravaged millions of hectares of Australian soils, some of which may take decades to fully recover. Academics say Australia needs a national database…

Nearly three billion koalas, kangaroos and other native Australian animals were killed or displaced by bushfires in 2019 and 2020, a study said on Tuesday, triple the previous estimates. Joe Davies reports.Read More