Australia's Bushfire Crisis
Peter Parks/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
While bushfires are a yearly problem for Australia, the continent is currently experiencing one of the largest brushfire seasons to date as approximately 14.5 million acres of land have burned/are burning. That is six times the size of the California wildfires experienced in 2018.
According to the Telegraph, 18 people have died, and half a billion animals have been killed (which includes 1/3 of the entire koala population) in the fires since they began in September 2019. Additionally, more than 1,300 homes have been destroyed, and some of the towns are being entirely wiped from the map as the fires continue to blaze.
Currently, 100 fires are burning across New South Wales, which declared a state of disaster on Thursday, January 2nd, and 30 in Victoria, which has declared a state of emergency on Friday where two navy ships were conducting evacuations for people and their pets.
Firefighters, both native to Australia and volunteers from the US, Canada and New Zealand, are doing their best to put out the fires and prevent them from spreading.
Local leaders are also stepping in to help with the crisis, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison apparently ventured off to Hawaii with his family for a vacation, which has caused quite a stir in the news as well as social media with the hashtag #ScottyfromMarketing.
Here’s How You Can Help Courtesy of c|net
A number of organizations and volunteer services are aiding in the firefighting and recovery efforts for affected communities. You can find links to donate below:
Australia's Red Cross Disaster relief and recovery fund helps support evacuation centers and recovery programs for the affected communities
The NSW Rural Fire Service has a donation page to support the firefighting efforts in New South Wales
The Country Fire Authority is the state of Victoria's rural firefighting service and you can donate directly here.
The Country Fire Service in South Australia also takes direct donations.
To help support firefighters in the state of Queensland, you can donate to the Rural Fire Brigades Association via their webpage.
The Salvation Army has a disaster appeal donations page set up to deliver support to local communities affected by the blazes.
The Community Enterprise Foundation, a collaboration between the Salvation Army and Bendigo Bank, have a similar disaster appeal to direct money to communities in need.
Foodbank is taking donations to help people in need during the crisis. You can donate at its website to the Victorian relief effort, which helps get relief for communities cut off from power and food.
Givit is a not-for-profit organization that cares for those in need by letting you donate goods it then passes on. It accepts items or money at its donation page.
The RSPCA bushfire appeal is used to protect the pets, livestock and wildlife affected by bushfires, helping evacuate animals from disaster zones. Items like livestock pellets and possum boxes are also incredibly handy.
Airbnb has established an emergency housing site for those displaced by the bushfires via its Open Homes initiative. You can book free accommodation in certain areas of New South Wales and Victoria.
Similarly, Find A Bed, established by Australian writer Erin Riley, allows people to offer up a bed or locate a bed in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. It currently has 900 registered volunteers.
The St Vincent de Paul society is helping people on the ground in rebuilding, providing food and clothing and emotional support. It has a donation page here.
The World Wildlife Fund accepts donations to help support conservation activities, particularly related to koalas. Money can help provide emergency care during bushfires.
The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has already raised in excess of $2 million to help search for and protect the koalas in the region. You can donate at its GoFundMe page.
Another GoFundMe page has been set up as a relief fund for First Nations communities to offer "culturally sensitive, specific direct support to some of those communities with critical costs to cover expenses."
Wires is an Australia wildlife rescue organization with a myriad ways to help Australia's native fauna. Donations can be made through its website.
Actor and comedian Celeste Barber is running a fundraiser for the Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service and Brigades donations fund. You can donate on the fundraiser's Facebook page.
There are great mental health services available to those who may need support or counselling in the crisis. Australians can chat to Lifeline online or call 13 11 14, and a similar service is provided by Beyond Blue (1300 22 46 36)
GamerAid is an Australian esports and gaming community initiative which has established a GoFundMe page to donate to fire services across the country. It's also teamed up with content creation team Misfits on a merch drive with profits directed to the relief efforts.
The Carlton Draft, a clothing store, has teamed up with former Australian Rules Football player Daniel Gorringe to raise funds via GoFundMe on behalf of the Red Cross. 100% of their profits (until Jan 7) will go toward relief funds.
Run your online searches through Ecosia, which uses profits to plant trees where they're needed most. Trees help reduce the carbon dioxide load. It can be added to Chrome.
In the US, if you want to contact elected officials and make your voice heard about climate change action– you can do that here. For Australians, you can contact a member of Parliament at this link.
Header Image Courtesy of DELWP, via Associated Press