DISASTER - BUSHFIRE

THE WORLD

DISASTERS

Bushfire
           On 2 December 1997, Australia's greatest city faced catastrophe. Fires raging in bushland on three sides of Sydney suddenly swept into the suburbs. Before firefighters could gain control, dozens of houses were destroyed. The flames, whipped up by high winds, lit the night sky over the city as 5,000 emergency workers battled hundreds of separate fires. Only their courage, and a quick weather change, prevented an even worse disaster.

Spreads like wildfire
      In Australia's tinder-dry bush, fires are easily started - by lightning, arson, or even from the sun's rays magnified through the glass of a carelessly discarded bottle. Blazes spread at speeds of up to 2 km a minute. The fires around Sydney reached to within 20 km of the centre, leaving the city darkened by a pall of choking smoke and fumes. Many homes were evacuated until the danger was past.