As Australia’s bushfires continue to rage on, one Olympian is issuing a public plea for help for her hometown affected by the situation.
25-year-old Olympic medalist Emma McKeon published an emotional statement on Instagram, highlighting the damage the wildfires in her nation are doing to both man and wildlife.
“It is so hard to truly understand the level of devastation and suffering happening right now across the country from these fires,” McKeon starts off on her post.
“I am so grateful to the relentless work and sacrifice from the firies, most of who are volunteers, saving thousands of people’s homes and lives, and still continuing.
“From being down at Lake Conjola over the last week, you can feel the way the community has come together to support each other. Everyone across Australia can come together as a country and support from afar as well by donating to those who have sadly lost their homes and everything in them, and to the firefighters and volunteers who are risking their lives daily.
“We can often feel helpless from far away but we can do the best we can by donating to those who have lost so much. Sadly our home town in Lake Conjola was hit very badly, and we were extremely lucky to be safe where we were. But our heart goes to the victims who lost so much, and to the place many call home.”
McKeon’s post below includes suggestions on how donations can be contributed to the Red Cross or the volunteer firefighters.
The fires began in September and are expected to last for several months as the hot weather continues, per ABC.
The smoke is so dangerous that the nation’s capital, Canberra, is currently ranked the world’s worst on the air quality index, the AP reported. Smoke has also wafted across the Tasman Sea into New Zealand.
The AP also reported that 17 people have died in the fires as of Wednesday, with several more reported as missing.
More than 175 homes have been destroyed from the most recent fires, In New South Wales alone, more than 400 homes have been burned.
Please avoid discussing politics on this website.
Change your awful Prime Minister, his awful govt and all the politicians in the pocket of oil, gas and coal lobbies. When you put climate change deniers in power here’s the result.
Agreed…we have had a coal- loving, climate change denying government now for 7 years in Aus. Peak summer is still weeks away yet..things could get even worse.
And next year will be worse and on and on till we are all gone.
Very sad…
Nice to see the sports stars getting involved, this is very serious and the government does nothing
Australia is set up for bush fire but this is beyond extraordinary . Every state has its system & protects it against anything federal , like in the US .. For example the states must request the military for direct presence & provide a legal framework . Soldiers are heavily restricted from interfering in society so you must protect them if they do have to eg order ppl out , damage property , restrict ppl’s freedoms.
All the modules , the forecasting & mapping fundamentals & fire behaviour knowledge has been set up for at least 30 -40 years thru Csiro & affiliated projects . The major change is that after Maryville 2009 , evacuation is the preferred official… Read more »