Rain Finally Begins To Pour In Australia Helping To Extinguish Deadly Bushfires
Published
| Last updated
Featured Image Credit: 9News
After months of bushfires ravaging the landscape of Australia, rain has finally started to fall.
Residents have been praying for downpour since the horrific blazes begun, and now the heavens have finally opened, bringing in the first significant stint of rainfall.
So far, up to 50mm of rain has fallen in New South Wales, and the wet weather has already helped to put out 32 bushfires.
Meanwhile, thunderstorms have caused flooding in Melbourne. The city has seen a month's worth of rain, with more than 70mms dropped over St Albans, in Melbourne's west, in just an hour.
The hit & miss nature of #thunderstorms means it's difficult to forecast exactly where the heaviest rain will be-some parts of #bushfire & #drought affected eastern Australia could see 50-100 mm over the next few days; while others may see very little https://t.co/T7MYuIdxkO pic.twitter.com/zgmiBmqcIG
- Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) January 15, 2020
Plus, Victoria has been hit with heavy rain and even hail in some areas.
This rainfall is only set to continue, as the Bureau of Meteorology has predicted between 30mm and 80mm of rain in the area between Thursday and Sunday.
Earlier in the week, the NSW Rural Fire Service described the upcoming rain as "all of our Christmas, birthday, engagement, anniversary, wedding and graduation presents rolled into one".
However, the wet weather comes with its own risks, too, as the bureau of meteorology have also warned that sudden heavy rainfall could also cause damage - labelling it a "double edged sword".
The issue is that, accompanied by thunderstorms, this rainfall brings with it the potential for flash flooding, and the fire affected areas are the more likely to be affected.
There are concerns that flood water will wash away all the topsoil and ash into Australian water systems.
Plus, lightning from the storms has already started two new fires in Victoria's Great Otway national park, situated on the south coast - and there are fears it could start more.
Since the fires begun, tragically 28 people have passed away, they've burnt more than 10million hectares of land and destroyed thousands of homes across the country.
Staggeringly, over one million animals are also said to have perished in the blaze as well, including kangaroos and koalas.
"Although this rain won't extinguish all fires, it will certainly go a long way towards containment," the RFS said.
If you'd like to help support those affected by the fires, there are a number of charities and organisations you can donate to, including the World Wildlife Fund, the Australian Red Cross, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and Wildlife Warriors.