As you’re almost certainly aware, the State of Victoria is in devastation today after some of the country’s worst ever bushfires have ravaged through the country, killing at least 108 people, destroying 750 homes and burning over 330,000 hectares of country. Obviously, our thoughts go out to those who have battled and are continuing to battle the ongoing flames, but for those of you who are either waiting for news, worried about loved ones or just curious about the magnitude of this natural disaster, Google has created a flash map of the Victorian fires, taking the latest information from the Country Fire Authority’s RSS feed. The map shows where the fires are occurring, whether they are contained, controlled or still burning, and are a stark reminder just how huge this disaster has been.
On a side note, over the weekend the CFA, VicRoads and Department of Sustainability and Environment websites were all struggling to meet the demand of people visiting their sites for information. So please, don’t visit these sites to rubberneck – only go there if you happen to be one of the Victorians concerned about losing your home.