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The Australian weather & fire thread (winds, floods, bushfires, warnings, news)

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*CountessA*:
Please keep this thread free of all off-topic material. We're heading into a nightmare summer, and I know we all fear that more lives will be lost as dangerous weather and other disasters threaten us Australia-wide.


--- Quote ---Australia is experiencing a winter day of extremes as temperatures peak in central areas, winds whip the south and the threat of bushfires increases.

Temperatures in the mid-30s are forecast for northern NSW and southern Queensland on Monday as firefighters brace for an early start to the bushfire season.

Brisbane's August maximum temperature record of just under 33 degrees Celsius is expected to fall.

Warmer weather has also been felt overnight in Sydney, where temperatures were twice the monthly average, and Canberra where 12 degrees Celsius set a new record for the warmest August night.

On NSW's south coast, temperatures are expected to stay in the low 20s as firefighters battle a massive fire that has already burnt out more than 180 hectares at Monkey Mountain near Ulladulla.

Much higher temperatures have led to a total fire ban in southern Queensland with authorities warning of a very high to extreme fire danger in the southwest areas of Charleville, the Darling Downs and Granite Belt, the Wide Bay and Burnett districts south of Gympie and the southeast coast.

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts warned of the danger bushfires posed in the wake of Victoria's Black Saturday, saying: "We need to be physically and mentally prepared for every eventuality."

Meanwhile, Victorians have been asked to be storm-ready as the state braces for three days of damaging winds and rain.

A severe weather warning has been issued and wind gusts up to 100km/h with gusts up to 120km/h in alpine regions are predicted.

The windy weather has prompted warnings to builders and other businesses to review the safety of their worksites with winds capable of picking up roofing, fences, timber and other building materials.

In parts of South Australia people have been told to stay indoors as that state also braces for gale-force winds.

Winds are predicted to approach 100km/h on Monday in several parts of the state with gales expected to hit Adelaide in the early evening.
--- End quote ---
Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/853603/australians-hit-by-heat-fire-winds

*wheels*:
Melbourne workers urged to leave before storm hits
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/25/2666300.htm

Melbourne's commuters are being urged to leave work early today, to avoid potential delays caused by the bad weather.

Winds of up to 120 kilometres an hour are forecast for parts of the state, and the front will reach Melbourne around 5pm today.

The winds are expected to cause power cuts, and the state's public transport providers expect the winds to cause some damage.

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR02I.loop.shtml#skip

*CountessA*:
I can't leave early... This is not going to be pretty. Wheels, perhaps everyone should join hands and have anchors around their cars...?

*wheels*:
I'm ok. I'm at home - still waaaaiting for a delivery that was supposed to be here this morning!

*CountessA*:

--- Quote ---There are no plans to develop standards for backyard bushfire bunkers and such a process could take years, Australia's peak standards body says.

Barry Eadie, a Standards Australia committee chairman, told the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission that the organisation was not currently looking at any proposals to develop standards for personal bushfire bunkers.

The commission investigating the fatal February 7 Victorian bushfires heard on Monday that standards for bunkers should be fast-tracked because "risky" models were infiltrating the market.

Mr Eadie is personally driving a project to develop standards for bushfire sprinklers, and while a draft proposal was expected to be ready in a week the whole process would not be completed for at least two years, he told the commission on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a review by Standards Australia of its 1999 edition of standards relating to building in bushfire-prone areas took more than nine years, the commission heard.

The 2009 edition was rushed through after February 7, despite disagreement among key stakeholders about some if its contents.

Building standards developed by Standards Australia are referenced by the Building Code of Australia.

Mr Eadie said there were a number of issues surrounding bunkers including whether they should be located above or below ground, oxygen supply, distance from an occupied building, and entering and leaving the bunker.

"There's certainly I believe cases for them but I think they need to be specific and designed for that location," he said.

Mr Eadie said he was aware of two existing bunkers and in both cases it was safer to stay and shelter in the bunkers than leave the area during a bushfire.
--- End quote ---

Do you know what strikes me as outrageous in this article? One of the most influential people involved in this question of "standards" is talking about an unrealistic and ridiculous length of time - as though his process of protocols is more important than the reality of achieving this safely and efficiently.

How much of that nine-year period is spent in meetings where people who don't have expertise flap their jaws in fruitless discussion?

How much of it is spent in waiting for someone to do some minor little bit of research or checking before the next stage can go forward?

How much in coffee breaks? How much in waffling? How much in waiting for the opinion of someone non-expert and irrelevant? How much - to be blunt - in sheer irresponsible time-wasting?

Four years? Five years? Heaven help us - seven or eight years?

HOW FAST COULD THIS BE DONE if it had to be done for their own sake?

Fast.

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