Fires like the Apocalypse threatened my Aussie backyard from August 2019 to February 2020...the East Coast on fire like never before.
Over 18 million hectares were burnt in the Australian bushfire season 2019–2020...all states affected.
In addition to 33 human fatalities including 9 firefighters, conservative estimates, based on NSW and Victoria only, project losses of over one billion mammals, birds and This excludes insects, the loss of which has been reported to be in the hundreds of billions...flora & fauna habitat scorched, killed and laid bare.
The Bureau of Meteorology noted in its January 2020 Statement that, ‘The extensive and fires appear to be the largest in scale in the modern record in New South Wales, while the total area burnt appears to be the largest in a single recorded fire season for eastern Australia.
While the east coast burned, we waited on edge for the Gospers Mountain Fire to jump the Hawkesbury River and race up the gorges and gullies to threaten our home.
Backing onto National Park in Sydneys North and Sydneys deepest Gorge tis a lottery that only time determines if we last.
The bushland behind our home had been bird, slither, insect Heaven the year before...during the fires the insects were nowhere to be seen.
Kinda surreal to have years of drought then rain like it had been saving up for storm after storm...trees ripped out by ferocious winds or simply falling over as hard ground replaced by sodden...trees on power lines...days without power...two times for us to ensure the fun was shared around.
The drainage remediation area behind our place we call the Resort...after crack bang downpours spilling like Victoria Falls.
But while our backs were turned the city of Wuhan in China went into hard lockdown... cos a mystery virus had escaped in December and by February 2020 was causing concern.
On 27 February 2020 Australia declared it as a national pandemic and went into overdrive to restrict its spread....learning as we go...the Ruby Princess cruise ship disembarkation probably our
The World Health Organisation declaring a worldwide Pandemic on 11 March 2020 and ever since various parts of the World have been in lockdown.
But the daily news over the ensuing months indicating many in other countries do not think likewise and among them the virus rages, kills and rages some more.
It is now December 2020...NIL now in ICU or intensive care in Oz from Covid...will we remain so lucky?
As at 28 November 2020 in Australia we had been lucky...27,874 infection cases...25,384 recovered...907 deaths of which 819 were in Victoria.
USA that day made up over 21 percent at 13M with over 18 percent of the deaths at 264K...setting new records for the 27th consecutive day.
In Oz we are lucky that our Federal and State Governments have been fighting the pandemic from united fronts unimpeded by political bent...lucky the Aussie populous
have been prepared to do whatever to weather the pandemic storm...lucky the governments have provided economic support as businesses closed, jobs were lost and futures uncertain but optimism...never lost.
All Aussie states were on top of it then apathy on overseas arrival quarantines in August led to a massive infection surge in Melbourne, Victoria.
From a peak of 725 cases in Victoria on the fifth day of the month, to a high of 6,768 active cases on the seventh...while the rest of Oz looked on in disbelief.
Kinda weird to hear that when our out of control sthn state of Victoria was having 700 new infections a day...so was the UK.
On 20 November 2020 Victoria after heavy lockdowns was having its 21st consecutive day of Nil new infection cases...430 active cases a month before but now only 1 remaining active case.
The USA insisting it remain on top had 186,972 new cases and 1,962 deaths that day...streets ahead of the rest of the world...setting new levels of familial despair.
