300 Pinoys evacuated from

area in Australia amid

bushfires
ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 05 2020 07:14 PM | Updated as of Jan 05 2020 07:32 PM

A burning gum tree is felled to stop it from falling on a car in Corbago, as bushfires
continue in New South Wales, Australia January 5, 2020. Tracey Nearmy, Reuters
MANILA - About 300 Filipinos had to be evacuated from East Gippsland in Victoria, Australia
because of the bushfires raging in the area, which is about 360 kilometers east of Melbourne, an
official of the Philippine Embassy in Canberra confirmed on Sunday.

Aian Caringal, First Secretary and Consul General of the Philippine Embassy in Canberra, said
Philippine officials are already coordinating with local Australian officials on the plight of the
evacuated Filipinos.

Watch more in iWant or TFC.tv

"The 300 Filipinos are already being attended to by the local government and have been given
temporary housing and been given emergency relief," Caringal said in an interview with ANC.

Twenty-four people have been killed since the start of this year's wildfire season, but none of them
were Filipinos, Caringal said.

Australia has been battling wildfires across large swathes of its east coast for weeks, with the blazes
scorching more than 5.25 million hectares (13 million acres) of land and destroying almost 1,500
houses in one state alone.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from coastal towns at the peak of the summer holiday
season.

Some people who live in high-risk fire areas have been in and out of evacuation centers over the past
couple of weeks as the volatile and unpredictable fires changed direction and intensity.

Caringal said that the Philippine embassy is ready to repatriate Filipino workers in Australia who
may wish to leave because of the calamity.

"If there would be any request, we are ready to attend to the request and repatriate our kababayan
workers as soon as possible."

However, the embassy has yet to receive any such request, he said.
Caringal said there are about 300,000 Filipinos living and working in Australia. - With reports from
Reuters

Read More: ANC ANC Top Australia bushfires DFA

MANILA - Some 300 Filipinos have been evacuated while 5 others lost their homes due to raging
wildfires across Australia, an official said Monday.

 Australia races to evacuate stranded as bushfires take a breather

Australia is home to around 300,000 Filipinos, of which 75,000 are workers and students, and the
rest are permanent migrants, according to Aian Caringal, consul general of the Philippine Embassy in
Canberra.

While common in Australia during the hot summer, which begins in December, bushfires have begun
much earlier this season following a 3-year drought that has left much of the country's bushland
tinder-dry and vulnerable to fires. More than 5 million hectares of land have been destroyed.

"Dito naman po 'pag season ng bushfire, they have contingencies in place, 'yung Australia local
authorities," Caringal told radio DZMM.

"We just need to coordinate with them. It’s more in coordination with local authorities and Filipino
communities."

Caringal urged Filipino migrants to "monitor their surroundings" and protect themselves from heat
and smoke.

"The safest places would be to go to the city centers kasi dun wala 'yung puno at grasslands," he said.

"Siguro po exercise caution (on traveling) kasi may times na 'yung smoke and visibility talagang
mababa kaya minsan naka-cancel ang flight or hindi maka-land."

Contact details of the Philippine Embassy in Australia and its consulates are available on its website,
Caringal told families of Filipino migrants.

The Philippine embassy is ready to repatriate Filipino workers in Australia who may wish to leave
because of the calamity, he earlier said.

 300 Pinoys evacuated from area in Australia amid bushfires

--With Reuters

Read More: DZMM Australia bushfires wildfires Philippine Embassy in Canberra

Home > Overseas
Australia's 'insurance' koala
population halved by bushfires
Glenda Kwek, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jan 05 2020 03:26 PM

A koala looks at the camera while receiving water from a cyclist during a severe heatwave that
hit the region, in Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia December 27, 2019 in this image
taken from social media. Picture taken December 27, 2019. Instagram.com/bikebug2019 via
Reuters
SYDNEY -- At least half of Australia's only disease-free koala population, a key "insurance" for the
species' future, is feared dead with more badly hurt after bushfires swept through an island sanctuary,
rescuers said Sunday.

Kangaroo Island, a popular nature-based tourist attraction off the coast of South Australia state, is
home to many wild populations of native animals including the much-loved koala, where the
populated was estimated at 50,000.

Massive bushfires have flared up in the vast country's southeast in a months-long crisis, killing nearly
half a billion native animals in New South Wales state alone, scientists estimate.

Conditions have been particularly severe in recent days, with an ongoing blaze on Kangaroo Island
spreading rapidly and razing 170,000 hectares -- one-third of the island -- on Friday.

"Over 50 percent (of the population) has been lost," Sam Mitchell of Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park,
which is raising funds to care for the injured koalas, told AFP.

"Injuries are extreme. Others have been left with no habitat to go back to, so starvation will be an
issue in coming weeks."

A University of Adelaide study published in July found that the Kangaroo Island koala species is
particularly important to the survival of the wider population as it is the only large group free from
chlamydia.

The bacterial infection -- which causes blindness, infertility and death in the species -- is widespread
in koalas in the eastern Queensland and New South Wales states and also occurs in Victoria state.

"They are an insurance population for the whole population," the University of Adelaide's Jessica
Fabijan, who carried out the study, told AFP. "These fires have ravaged the population."

Fabijan said massive bushfires in New South Wales and Victoria's Gippsland region, home to major
koala populations, is also expected to have killed many animals.

"It's one of the biggest tragedies for the population since the late 1800s when they used to hunt them
for their fur," she added.
Habitat loss, dog attacks, car strikes and climate change have already led to a sharp decline in the
furry marsupial's population, which is believed to have numbered more than 10 million prior to
European settlement of the continent in 1788.

The koalas cannot be removed from the island due to their chlamydia-free status, the state
government said, adding that veterinarians were rescuing and treating the injured animals on-site.

Read More: Australia koala Kangaroo Island bushfires

 RESOURCES
 MEDIA RELEASES
AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE THREAT: LONGER & MORE
DANGEROUS SEASONS
25Shares

20.03.18BY CLIMATE COUNCIL

INTENSIFYING CLIMATE CHANGE is driving Australia’s escalating bushfire threat, creating
longer and more dangerous fire seasons than ever before, according to the Climate Council.

“New South Wales and Victorian towns have been hit hard with devastating bushfires that have
affected the lives of hundreds of people, with homes and properties lost and damaged in the
process,” said Climate Council Acting CEO and Head of Research Dr Martin Rice.

“Intensifying climate change is exacerbating extreme weather events including rising

temperatures, severe heatwaves, supercharged storms, flooding, intense rainfall and even
bushfires,” he said.

“High bushfire danger weather has been increasing in Southeast Australia over the past forty
years due to worsening climate change, which unfortunately has increased the odds that
dangerous fires, such as the events we have seen at Tathra and western VIC, will occur.”

Dr Rice warned that Australia will continue to experience an increasing number of dangerous
fire weather days, placing fire services and medical professionals under pressure, and
communities at risk, as climate change intensifies.

“Communities, emergency services and the health sector must prepare and resource for
worsening fire danger conditions now and into the future,” he said.

“The cost of bushfires in New South Wales alone is likely to more than double by mid-century to
100 million dollars per year.”

“Australia experienced its hottest winter on record last year, which was made 60 times more
likely due to climate change. As Australia continues to experience such unprecedented
temperatures, parts of the country are seeing dangerous bushfire conditions emerge.”
Dr Rice said the Federal Government must deeply and rapidly cut Australia’s rising greenhouse
gas pollution levels, in a bid to protect Australians from worsening extreme weather events,
which are creating more severe bushfire seasons.

“Australia’s carbon pollution levels have risen every quarter since March 2015,” he said.

“The Federal Government must rollout strong and credible climate and energy policy that
addresses climate change and the bushfire threat – unfortunately the National Energy Guarantee
falls short of this.”

“Tackling climate change, through transitioning to clean, affordable and reliable renewable
energy and storage technology is critical to reducing the risk of extreme weather events,
including severe bushfires we’ve seen in Victoria and New South Wales this month.”

The Climate Council has created a climate and energy policy roadmap ‘Clean & Reliable
Power: Roadmap to a Renewable Future’, outlining 12 key principles essential to tackle
climate change in Australia.
 Iran launched missile strikes late Tuesday against two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. forces in
retaliation for the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani last week. More than a
dozen ballistic missiles targeted the Al Asad and Erbil military bases, the Pentagon said, and
U.S. officials were assessing the damage.

It was still unclear early Wednesday morning whether there were any casualties, but in a tweet
Tuesday night President Trump said: "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military
bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!
We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be
making a statement tomorrow morning."

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif defended Iran's attack, tweeting that Tehran "took &
concluded proportionate measures in self-defense." He added that "we do not seek escalation or
war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression."

The Al Asad air base houses about 1,500 U.S. and coalition forces. The base was already on
high-alert and recently paused its operations against ISIS to shift resources to prepare for a
possible revenge attack by Iran.

Follow live updates below:

U P D ATE D 33M AG O

Iraqi leader says Iran alerted them about strikes

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's office said Wednesday that Iran had notified Baghdad
that it was taking revenge against the U.S. killing of an Iranian general with missile strikes
targeting American forces inside Iraq, as the missile salvo from Iran began or shortly before.

"Shortly after midnight on Wednesday 8/1/2020, we received an official oral message from the
Islamic Republic of Iran that the Iranian response to the assassination of General Qassem
Soleimani had begun, or (was) about to begin shortly, and that the strikes would be limited to
sites where U.S. forces are deployed, but without identifying these sites," the statement posted to
the prime minister's Facebook page said.

"Simultaneously, the American side contacted us as the missiles were falling on the wing of the
American forces at Ain al-Assad base in Anbar, Harir base in Erbil, and in other locations," the
statement from Mahdi's office said.

The statement concluded by saying Mahdi was reaching out to his own subordinates and external
partners to try to contain the situation and avert a full-scale conflict.

B Y TU C K ER R E AL S



 U P D ATE D 5 7 M AG O

Ayatollah touts "slap" to U.S.

Iran's supreme leader has touted his country's missile strike against Iraqi bases housing U.S.
troops as a "slap" to the Americans in retaliation for the U.S. strike that killed a senior Iranian
commander last week. But Ayatollah Ali Khameni said Iran's real revenge would be forcing the
U.S. to leave the region.

"They (America) were struck with such a slap last night," Khamenei told a large crowd in Tehran
chanting the familiar "death to America" refrain.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a gathering in Tehran, Iran,
January 8, 2020.O F F I C I A L K H A M E N E I W E B S I T E

"Military action like this is not sufficient," he said. "What is important is ending the corrupting
presence of America in the region."

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani echoed the supreme leader's comment, saying Iran's "real
revenge and the ultimate response by regional nations is when America is expelled from this
region and its hand of aggression is cut off forever."

In interview with CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer on Tuesday, Iran's
Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said his country would only strike "legitimate targets"
in its response to the strike that killed the country's general. But he also distanced Iran's
government from the proxy groups known to be directly linked to Tehran in the region, including
Hezbollah in Lebanon and the powerful Shiite militias in Iraq known collectively as the PMU.

"Those people are not controlled by us because they're not our proxies. They're people with
emotions, independent thinking, and that is why I said, what they will do is not controllable by
Iran," Zarif insisted.

As of Wednesday morning, there had been no retaliation by the Shiite militia to the U.S. strike
last Friday, which killed one of its senior leaders alongside the Iranian commander Qassem
Soleimani.

B Y TU C K ER R E AL S



Still no reports of casualties
There were conflicting reports early Tuesday about where the Iranian missiles that targeted an
airbase used by U.S. forces in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil actually landed, but there were still
no reports of casualties from that attack or the more significant barrage that hit a base in western
Iraq.
CBS News' team on the ground said one missile appeared to have landed inside the perimeter of
Erbil's international airport, where the U.S. air base is located, but local media said it failed to
explode. Local Kurdish authorities would not permit CBS News to get close to this missile.

At least one other missile landed near the town of Bardarash, about 30 miles from Erbil, but
caused no damage. There were reports that a possible third missile fell about 12 miles from Erbil
airport, but it was unclear whether it had exploded.

A file photo shows the Ain al-Asad U.S. air base in Iraq's western Anbar desert. N A S S E R NASSER/AP

There were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage caused by any of the
missiles that targeted the Erbil base, or the Ain al-Asad U.S. air base in Iraq's western Anbar
province. The Iraqi military said all of its troops were safe after 17 missiles hit the al-Asad base,
including two that failed to explode.