How many people died in the Australian bushfires 2009?
How many people died in the Australian bushfires 2009?
173
Black Saturday bushfires/Number of deaths
The Black Saturday fires started on 7 February 2009. Approximately 400 fires were recorded across Victoria, affecting 78 communities. A total of 173 people died in the fires, and 2 029 houses were lost.
What caused the 2009 Australian wildfires?
On the morning of 7 February north westerly winds in excess of 100 kilometres per hour scoured the state, bringing hot, dry air from Central Australia. The storm helped create almost perfect fire conditions and when the winds brought down powerlines at 11.47am in Kilmore East, the resulting sparks ignited the fire.
What happened in the 2009 bushfires?
The fires occurred during extreme bushfire weather conditions and resulted in Australia’s highest-ever loss of human life from a bushfire, with 173 fatalities. Many people were left homeless as a result….
| Black Saturday bushfires | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | 7 February – 14 March 2009 |
| Burned area | 450,000 hectares (1,100,000 acres) |
What was the worst bushfire in Australia 2019?
Gospers Mountain fire
By 15 December 2019, the Gospers Mountain fire had grown to 350,000 hectares (860,000 acres), making it the biggest forest fire in Australian history.
How long did the Black Saturday fires burn for?
At about 12.30pm, a fire broke out in a paddock on private farmland about 5 kilometres north-west of the township. The grass fire was relatively short-lived, being active for about five hours on that day but burning over 1,000 hectares. It started at about 1.15pm.
How did bushfire start?
In recent times most major bush fires have been started in remote areas by dry lightning. Some reports indicate that a changing climate could also be contributing to the ferocity of the 2019–20 fires with hotter, drier conditions making the country’s fire season longer and much more dangerous.
What are the most devastating bushfires in Australian history?
The 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria were the most devastating in Australian history; 173 people tragically lost their lives, 414 were injured, more than a million wild and domesticated animals were lost and 450,000 hectares of land were burned.
What were the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria?
Black Saturday bushfires. The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across the Australian state of Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009 and were Australia’s all-time worst bushfire disasters.
How many fires were there on Black Saturday 2009?
As many as 400 individual fires were recorded on Saturday 7 February; the day has become widely referred to in Australia as Black Saturday. The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, headed by Justice Bernard Teague, was held in response to the bushfires.
What caused the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire in 2009?
The cause of the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire was found by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission to be an ageing SP AusNet power line.