on โ14-02-2017 09:41 AM
so glad no lives lost, people did the right thing and got out.
i hope insurance policys were held by all and the govt gets in there and helps with money asap to get these people some relief.
whenever these sorts of events happen there is allways some who have no insurance and lose everything but their lives. if living in bushfire areas home insurance is a must.
on โ14-02-2017 11:39 AM
just devasting... also the stock and wildlife losses will be terrible as well.
on โ15-02-2017 04:56 PM
Shocking bush Fire in Christchurch NZ, one helicopter Pilot dead.
How much more can Christchurch take ๐
on โ15-02-2017 08:25 PM
on โ15-02-2017 09:32 PM
thanks for the link
dont think of nz having bush fires, nearly allways see images of snow covered mountains or green everywhere.
on โ16-02-2017 03:03 AM
What's the betting that these houses will be re-built? Using the same flammable materials? In the same bushfire-prone area?
The present claims on the fire insurance and the no doubt guaranteed future claims when it all happens again will inevitably drive up fire insurance premiums for everyone else. Doesn't that knowledge give you a "warm" and fuzzy glow?
on โ16-02-2017 06:42 AM
I can't vouch for some of the burnt out areas but I do know the Pappinbarra area.....of course it will be rebuilt and the homes will probably be timber.
It is a farming area.....grazing, dairy and market gardens as well as the crops grown to feed the animals.
Certainly there are trees in the area but it is hardly what you would call traditional bush as we see in the Blue Mountains. You can't remove all the trees just because you want to live in the area.
on โ16-02-2017 09:28 AM
people live in rural areas for all sorts of reasons.
farmers live there because thats where the farms are
lower income familys live there because properties are more afordable
towns are there to service the local populations.
the 'make em live in the city' is not feasable.
i lived in a rural area for over 30 years because my youngest sister wanted to do the 'horse' thing, you cant keep horses in a suburban back yard.
over those 30 years we faced 3 bushfires, none that actually reached our home. but the last one did get to about 5 meters from our house.
after the 2nd fire we installed a sprinkler system, two 5,000 gallon rain water tanks fed by a bore through a 5hp fire fighting pump to sprinklers all over the house. this system could drench the house in about 5 minutes and keep it that way for up to 45 minutes. we also installed a generator that could power the entire house plus the bore in case the power was cut during a fire. total cost about $7,000
most fires are very fast moving, arrived and passed in about 10 minutes in my experience.
that last fire proved the point, days after the fire you could see the fire had surged towards our home then split around the house and gone on its way leaving us pretty much untouched.
i would like to see more country people investing in home fire prevention.
on โ16-02-2017 10:29 AM
Raining in the North island but not the South island where needed.