AUSTRALIA — As the death toll rose in the worst wildfires to strike Australia in recent memory, the nation’s tight-knit Jewish community mounted an effort to help citizens whose homes and towns have been utterly destroyed.
Australians Mortified at Extent of Damage in Raging Wildfires
AUSTRALIA — As the death toll rose in the worst wildfires to strike Australia in recent memory, the nation’s tight-knit Jewish community mounted an effort to help citizens whose homes and towns have been utterly destroyed.
In the state of Victoria, where most of the infernos ravaged brush-land before turning towards population centers, the Moorabbin Hebrew Congregation, led by Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Elisha Greenbaum, was among several synagogues to amass blankets, linens, clothes, toys and food for the fire evacuees. The local Hatzolah Centre in Caulfield North will distribute the donated items.
“There’s a whole ballroom full of badly-needed items,” said Greenbaum.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took to the airwaves Monday after police announced that at least two fires appeared to be deliberately set. Rudd called the outbreak, which has killed at least 130 people, “mass murder.”
Fleeing homeowners described a horror of heat and flame that consumed everything in its path.
Fire!
Southern Australia and the state of California have a massive fire every year. It should already be expected by now…
ATT Fire!
Please note the second to last paragraph:
“police announced that at least two fires appeared to be deliberately set.”
Somebody started the fire! Hashem Yishmor!
Pained
It was expected. We had 116.7 degrees Fahrenheit on Shabbos with extremely strong winds. The fires were deliberately lit. There was little people could do. They followed their Fire plans but plans mean little when things are out of human control.
The shock is not because we have fires, but because even with the highest level of preparedness possible we have lost nearly 200 lives.
ARSON
We are talking about deliberately set fires……
aussie
The fires came at an extremely quick rate, and were deliberately lit in some places, that meant no matter how good the preparations were, it was too fast. Some places were wiped out before the warnings even came that were fires in the area-it was that fast! its a shocking terrible tragedy.
concerned
what abt the chabad house? is it ok ?
AUSSIE
now the death toll is already at 180+. victorian police expect the toll to rise to 300.
they are finding more victims every hour.
the fires were moving at 40MILES PER HOUR. people just couldn’t drive away fast enough – the smoke was too thick. alot of people collided with objects bc of poor vision. they perished because the fires caught up with them.
YES THE FIRES WERE DELIBERATELY LIT. YET THE EMBERS SPREAD OUT
Milhouse
There aren’t any Chabad houses in the affected areas. There are barely any Jews at all in those areas. But Marysville, which becomes a mekom Torah during Pesach every year, no longer exists; the entire town has been wiped out, with barely a building left standing. Yidden who’ve been spending Pesach there for years are now offering to take people from that town into their homes for a while.