Should there be laws to stop people living / building in bushfire prone areas?

[donnashuggy]

and surrounding themselves in trees and bushland.

It seems very risky to live in these areas and very risky for the firefighters.

[acacia_pycnantha]

People who live in bushfire-prone areas pose a risk for all of the rest of the community . . .  manifested by increasing fire insurance premiums and in state levies (taxes)  . ..  bushfire levies, emergency services levies etc.

It's just not sensible or reasonable to live in a forest and then cry crocodile tears when your house burns down every 20-30 years or so, and then to go and rebuild a wooden framed single brick house with a picturesque woode shingle roof on the ashes of the previous house.

Oh, but we have insurance. Yes, insurance companies raise the premiums of everyone in order to take into account that that they'll have to pay out to the wallies who want to live in a flammable landscape.

They put their lives at risk, they put the lives of their children at risk, they put the lives of their pets and other animals at risk and they seriously increase the risk to those in the emergency services who they rely upon to save their stupid carcasses when the inevitable fire sweeps through.

[i-need-a-martini]

But the debate does beyond the issue of insurance.

As a fire goes through a house burns for way longer and with more intensity than a a bit of scrub which makes a bushfire much more dangerous.

[meh_too]

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@donnashuggy wrote:

Where my parents live they have had a huge increase in insurance premiums because of the risk of flood (something to do with the council) yet I don't think it has ever flooded there.

It's beyond me why anyone would want to live in a flood zone.

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I was always worried about a tsunami when I live in Bondi and had it figured out how long it would take me to get up Bondi Road to the Junction to escape 

[not_an_eloi]

folk who live around the current minmi fire are sayin' that they can't believe that there could be enough material to burn, given that the area was only burned to scorched earth around 15 months ago.

an added risk is,  that as availability of land becomes less and less, a lot of newer suburbs are built on outer peninsulas and along ridges, where there is only one road in and out. 

[voodoo**works]

Donna, you are so right. I find it hysterical that people are protesting gay marriage when it doesn't effect their lives, whereas those selfish individuals who soak up the tax payer dollars by their refusal to live on a quarter acre block and put up with traffic jams, effect everybody's lives by putting firemen at risk and using up resources.

Some poster defended their right by saying that other people choose to live on cliff edges: what rubbish. If a house collapses under an eroding cliff - it effects the homeowners and that's it. People who love being surrounded by woodland should be charged with homicide when firemen and volunteers die defending their homes.

[jimmy*part4]

It's funny (NOT in a HaHa way), but to read you have the same exact problems. I live on a large island and would not live near the ocean unless I had enough money to buy a new house if the ocean decides to come in.

Hurricane sandy was exactly one year ago today and people are still rebuilding. One homeowner was complaining on the news yesterday that he still hasn't got any help from the government. So....my tax dollars have to pay for his new home!

Screw that! Now people that don't live by the ocean have to pay higher insurance. Sound familiar?!

***********************************************************************************************************************************

I once posted how I'm amazed by our water tunnels and train tunnel systems.

I watch a show called "Strip the City" and this one was about Sydney. Usine 3D animations they remove buildings, sections of land, and show what it looked like 10's of thousands of years ago and move it through time. I was amazed!

What I learned....

Before the Blue mountains existed rivers flowed to the ocean and deposited bits of inland which over time compressed into sandstone, which created a natural harbour....a perfect place for a city. When the Blue mountains grew they cut off the water flow which creates a problem with supplying water to the city.

They are working on a system that stores water in cracks under ground. (ingenious!) So you will be able store excess water where it won't evaporate for the dry times.

You have a deposit of coal....2 billion tonnes....enough to last decades.

The process used to create enough new land in the harbour will be able to house 23,000 people!

But....much like here....people built their home right up to the edge of the ravines that run through Sydney which adds to your fire problems. They said those ravines are filled with Eucalyptus trees and the bits of bark the fall off them contain oils (and the trees themselves of course).

They said when the temps hit 40 degrees the oils evaporate and the slightest spark will set off a fire storm.

I'm watching the fires on the BBC news channel right now. (I like to see news from a different point of view from our own news....)

Here's the show if you're interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wcNIYV5jiFY

.

[voodoo**works]

Your tax dollars have to go to pay a man in America to rebuild his home?

[jimmy*part4]

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@voodoo**works wrote:

Your tax dollars have to go to pay a man in America to rebuild his home?

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Not just him. Because so many homes were destroyed they get federal aid to rebuild their houses. Some use insurance but many weren't covered....so yes, they are getting their house rebuilt for free AND complaining it's not fast enough.

Shocking that the ocean my wash away your house if you build it on a beach eh.

[voodoo**works]

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@*jimmeh* wrote:

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@voodoo**works wrote:

Your tax dollars have to go to pay a man in America to rebuild his home?

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Not just him. Because so many homes were destroyed they get federal aid to rebuild their houses. Some use insurance but many weren't covered....so yes, they are getting their house rebuilt for free AND complaining it's not fast enough.

Shocking that the ocean my wash away your house if you build it on a beach eh.

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Not JUST him? Um... last time I checked, Australians weren't responsible for the outcomes of American weather and if YOU are paying taxes to support Americans then I suggest you hire a new accountant 😉

Having said that, I'm quite happy to donate to flood victims as living on the coast is a prerequisite for many types of employment, this is where our cities are built and infrastructure lies. People who move to the woods are not farmers, they are not employed most of the time as they are too far away to commute:  they are people who want alot of cheap land and to "get away from it all." While they save money and gain a lifestyle, they destroy thousands of families who serve to protect them - some don't even get PAID for protecting these selfish tree-huggers who do nothing for Australia at large except serve themselves.

Sea-changers work for a living - tree-changers don't.

[the_great_she_elephant]

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@voodoo**works wrote:

Your tax dollars have to go to pay a man in America to rebuild his home?

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Jimmeh an is American, Voodoo, that's where he lives, works and pays his taxes.