Cash pours in for beleaguered Oz
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Saddened Queen sends best wishes to emergency services.
Aglobal appeal to help Australian firefighters tackling catastrophic bushfires raised almost Aus$25 million (R248 million) yesterday, as swathes of the country suffered extensive damage and the death toll from the long-running crisis hit 24.
East coast seaside towns were plunged into darkness, ash rained down on rural communities and major cities were again cloaked in choking smoke, even as stunned Australians tried to regroup amid a wave of cooler air and light rain.
The weekend marked some of the worst days in the country’s deadly bushfire crisis, with hundreds more properties destroyed and the overall death toll climbing to 24, including a man who died on Saturday trying to save a friend’s home.
Comedian Celeste Barber used her international social media fame to launch a Facebook fund-raiser for firefighters that almost reached its Aus$25 million target in just two days with donations from all over the globe.
US pop star Pink said she would donate $500 000 (about R7 million) to the firefighters, a donation matched by actress Nicole Kidman.
World No 1 tennis star Ash Barty pledged to hand over all her winnings from this week’s Brisbane International tennis tournament – potentially $250 000 – to the Red Cross.
About 200 fires continued to burn yesterday, although only a handful prompted warnings as temperatures dipped.
Everywhere, millions of beleaguered residents struggled to come to grips with a catastrophe that has taken place on a near-continental scale, unfurled over months and altered daily life.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday announced the largest military call-up in living memory, with 3 000 reservists helping exhausted volunteer firefighters.
Up and down the coast, thousands of people remained displaced and many more weighed an uncertain future.
The country’s distinctive flora and fauna will take years or decades to recover – countless thousands of blue gum trees have been lost and experts on Kangaroo Island said half the koala population had been wiped out.
Queen Elizabeth II yesterday said she was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy. – AFP