Rain came to Australia earlier this week in severe thunderstorms. These thunderstorms are helping to fight the massive fires. The rain is helping to relieve firefighters from the inferno. The fires had started earlier this month have ravaged Australia thus creating surreal and terrifying images. From a CNN article earlier this weak, it stated "Rain has fallen on most of the fire grounds in the state over the last 24 hours, the RFS said. However, it wasn't enough to put out the flames. Eighty-two fires are still burning, including 30 that are yet to be contained." Rain had not hit many of these locations in many months or years. This rain has created flash floods have hit record highs. Due to the lack of rain, regions are so dry the water can't soak into the ground. This creates a big issue with tons of flash flooding all across the country. This helps to solve Australia's problem but at the same time sets up a new one. Although the flooding is important to handle, the fires still should have the most attention given to them.
Questions:
1. What is the bigger issue, the fires or now the floods?
2. With the Australian Open going on, what should be done about the players health?
3. How can the animals be helped that are stuck in the fires?
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/16/australia/australia-weather-intl-hnk/index.html
Both fires spreading and flash flooding cause millions if not billions of dollars in damage and they both force people out of their homes. I think the bigger issue is the fires because they are contributing to more global warming. They also can cause more damage if left alone from the ash and debris mixing with the water causing mudflows.
ReplyDeleteI think that fires are still the main issue because they not only can kill people with their flames, but with their suffocating smoke as well. The smoke can cause air quality issues that can lead to sickness. I feel that the Australian Open is kind of irrelevant considering the bigger picture of a whole continent either on fire or flooding. I think they are definitely trying to rescue the animals but it may not be their main priority. It might help if there were more groups solely dedicated to the protection of the animals living in Australia.
ReplyDeleteI think the Australian Open should be postponed or moved to a safer environment to prevent the players from being injured or put into danger.
ReplyDeleteAnimals stuck in the fires can only be helped if people go out and into them in order to bring them out safely. There is really no way for them to avoid the fire, unless they move on their own. Even that, the animals still have a low chance of surviving, as the fires are spreading at a blistering speed.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the floods and fire are really big issues but the fire cause more damage as it kills people and animals and cost more to repair the destruction it has done. Not to mention the smoke from the fires which can damage your lungs.
ReplyDeleteThe floods and the fires are certainly both devastating issues facing Australia today. In my opinion, the floods should actually be given more attention, because they could possibly destroy ecosystems and towns. The fires could do the same as well, but there is already a lot of global attention placed on them, unlike the floods. Animals that are stuck in destroyed environments from these natural disasters should be rescued as much as possible by firefighters, especially considering how many rare and endangered species live on the continent.
ReplyDeleteIn my humble opinion, i believe that the fires are the bigger issue. These fires are causing mass destruction all over the country and are causing not only buildings and ecosystems to destroyed but also the air quality is morbid, and super unhealthy. The players in the Australian open should make sure to drink lots of water to clear their systems of the toxic air. And the sad truth is, the animals caught in those fires are devastated, and there is next to nothing that can be done for them, but we can make sure to stop the fires in their tracks now, to save the other animals in the line of fire.
ReplyDeleteI think that the fires are a larger issue for Australia to deal with. The fires cause a significant amount of damage to the economy and the environment and affect the health of many. The AUstralian government should focus on dealing with the fires and it should be their first priority.
ReplyDeleteWhile both the fires and floods in Australia are very destructive, I believe the fires should be more of a priority. The rains that have caused the floods only occured around certain areas in Australia while the fires are still a huge factor all over the country, which I think should make it the top priority. With the Australian Open going on, it think that it should continue but with much caution for the health of the athletes competing and the spectators.
ReplyDeleteWhile both fires and floods present very harrowing dangers to Australia, and we should be addressing both issues accordingly, we should also pay more attention to other scary details. For example, the article states that many of these regions that are being affected by rain right now in Australia have not seen rain in so long that the ground cannot even absorb it anymore. These kind of events are major indications of climate change on a massive scale; we have not seen such extreme weather patterns for centuries until recently. Of course, we should be very concerned for those in Australia and are currently suffering, but we should also by seeing this floods and fires as signs to act more to do more to prevent/slow down climate change.
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DeleteI believe that fires are the bigger issue because they can not only burn down miles of forest, wildlife, and people's homes but the smoke can cause damage as well. Considering the area and how much wildlife Australia has, fires are a bigger threat. Considering that many of the sanctuaries for animals have been affected its now just a priority to find surviving animals that are in distressed or injured. Since we can't directly help, donations are all we can really do to help support the effort to rebuild what was destroyed.
ReplyDeleteI think the fires are still a wayyy bigger issue because fires are hard to put out in the first place, then you add to that its a bushfire, so it spreads rapidly, and on top of that there are eighty two of those still going on. I doubt anybody in Australia cares too much about the floods when they realize how much the fire has done to their country. I think the Australians are definetely rooting for even more rain to come even if it causes floods.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very unfortunate that Australia is having to deal with so many devastating environmental issues at the same time. Extreme rainstorms and wildfires seem like they should cancel each other out, but the fact that they don't is extremely concerning; it makes me wonder if there is really anything Australia can do to battle these issues. Like many people above, I think that the fires are the larger issue- fires tend to spread and cause more damage than rainstorms in shorter periods of time, so I they need to be focused on (however, if a flood can't put out a fire, I'm not sure what can).
ReplyDeleteUndoubtedly, both the floods and fires are causing much widespread damage, but I believe that the fires are the bigger issue since the effects of the fires can be felt in the air and the environment not only while they burn but for a long period of time AFTER they have been extinguished. They should stay as Australia’s top priority since they have been causing much more damage to their ecosystem, but that doesn’t mean that some attention shouldn’t be brought to these floods.
ReplyDeleteWhile both of the current environmental situations in Australia are concerning, I do believe that the fires should be addressed first. Both are causing harm to Australia’s environment, but I personally think that the fires are posing a bigger threat in comparison. Killing people, wildlife, and destroying homes, the fires appear to be more of an urgent situation to address. These fires have been an ongoing situation for quite a while, and any further damage would cause even more economic and environmental issues. Although the rain came to Australia with a cost, they have also been helpful with fighting some of the fires. By no means should Australia ignore the flood issue, I just believe that the fires should be prioritized.
ReplyDeleteFlash floods and fires are both very problematic. The flash floods cause immense environmental damage by moving dangerous chemicals into water bodies, causing issues for marine wildfire and the condition of the ocean; in addition, many animals drown, while habitats are altered, messing up the ecosystem’s natural balance. Flooding also brings with it many diseases and infections, as well as property damage, which will strain the government’s economy. The Australian government could try to build more flood defenses, protect wetlands, safe-proof factories, etc. to combat against this. Fires are highly destructive as well, destroying a lot of living space for animals, as well as trapping and killing them, and releasing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, polluting the Earth and negatively impacting human health. To fight against this, the Australian government could invest for firefighters to monitor places where future fires will likely start more closely and have animal professionals accompany them more frequently to ensure that any injured creatures receive medical attention.
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