© ABC 2009

Questions for discussion

Bushfire disaster

1. Summarise the story in your own words. 2. Describe the weather conditions and their impact on

the fires.

3. How many fires were there in Victoria? 4. What factors contributed to the Victorian fires? 5. What helped the fire move quickly? 6. What part did location of houses and towns play in

the bushfires?

7. What is the most dangerous part of a bushfire? 8. What impact did it have on people in the path of the

fire?

9. Choose three adjectives to describe the Victorian bushfires.

10. How did this story make you feel?

Send a message on the special ‘Bushfire Message’ page on

the BtN website.

Bushfire investigations

1. Why is fire information vital? 2. What system is the Government looking at introducing

to help people during bushfires?

3. What role are forensic scientists playing in the investigation?

4. What has the advice been up until now about fighting or fleeing a fire?

5. Why is that being reconsidered? 6. Describe in your own words the concerns about living

in the bush.

7. What are some solutions being suggested? 8. What is `burnoff’ and why are some people saying

there should be more of them?

9. What lessons can be learnt from a disaster such as this?

10. What do you think should happen next?

Go to the Children’s BBC website to find out more about

the fires

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7880000/newsid_78

83500/7883531.stm

Fire aftermath

1. In your own words describe how Australians and people around the world responded to the bushfires.

2. Describe the support being given to the victims of the fires.

3. Why do you think it is important for victims to be able to talk to professional counsellors?

4. How much money has been donated to bushfire relief funds so far?

EPISODE 1

17TH FEBRUARY 2009

© ABC 2008

5. How are schools helping to support people affected by the fires?

6. What difference are the donations making? 7. How have animals been affected by the fires? 8. The Prime Minister has declared a national day of

mourning. What is the significance of such an event?

9. What do you think helps people get through an event such as this?

10. What can individuals do to support people

affected by the fires?

Hold a class discussion about ways your school or class

can support the bushfire victims.

Queensland floods

1. Describe the area that is flood affected. 2. Which town in Queensland was the worst affected by

the floods?

3. What were the effects on people and property? 4. What happened to the wildlife? 5. Describe in your own words how the flood happened? 6. What is a flash flood? 7. Why is it so dangerous? 8. Why is contamination an issue? 9. Describe what happens when a flat area of land is

flooded.

10. How can people support those affected by the

floods?

Tell us what you think in the ‘Comments’ section of the

story page.

Weather forecasting

1. What was the main point of the story? 2. What is a meteorologist? 3. What aspects of the weather do meteorologists study? 4. What does a barometer measure? 5. How does the Bureau of Meteorology collect

information to forecast weather?

6. Describe how weather forecasting has changed over the years.

7. What role do computers play in forecasting weather today?

8. How accurate do the weather forecasters think they are?

9. Give examples of how people rely on weather forecasts.

10. What do you now know about weather forecasting

that you didn’t know before watching the BtN story?

Test your knowledge in the online quiz.

© ABC 2008

News reports

Constructing the news

Students will be considering how media texts are

constructed by analysing a BtN story. Conduct a class

brainstorm to establish what students already know about

news reports. In groups of 3-4, ask students to choose a

story from this week’s episode and respond to the

following key questions:

What is the purpose of a news report?

Who is the audience?

How is the report constructed? What techniques

are used to attract the viewers’ attention such as

lighting, camera angles, editing and music?

What style is used to tell the story?

What values and viewpoints are presented?

Whose voices are not expressed?

Why is the message being sent?

What changes would you make to the story? Why?

Discuss as a class whether there are any other key

questions students have.

Negotiate with students ways to present their responses

to the key questions. These include:

Mind map/concept map

PowerPoint presentation

Poster/brochure

An animation

Each group can present their finished product to the

rest of the class.

Self assessment

What do you now know about news stories that you didn’t

know before this investigation?

Further investigations

EPISODE 1

17TH FEBRUARY 2009

Learning Area

English

Key learning

Students will

develop a deeper

understanding of how

news reports are

constructed.

© ABC 2008

Compare the BtN news story to another television news

report. What are the similarities and differences?

Create a news report (newspaper, radio, television,

magazine, Internet). The report can be based on a school

or community issue.

Related Research Links

BBC – How to report online

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/school_report/5284292.stm

Writing fun - How to write a news report

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/writingfun/writin

gfun.html

© ABC 2008

Weather

forecasting

Weather can have a huge affect on

people’s lives and all sorts of

people rely on weather forecasts.

But how do forecasters know what

will happen in the future?

Focus Questions

1. What was the main point of the story? 2. What is a meteorologist? 3. What aspects of the weather do meteorologists study? 4. What does a barometer measure? 5. How does the Bureau of Meteorology collect

information to forecast weather?

6. Describe how weather forecasting has changed over the years.

7. What role do computers play in forecasting weather today?

8. How accurate do the weather forecasters think they are?

9. Give examples of how people rely on weather forecasts.

10. What do you now know about weather forecasting

that you didn’t know before watching the BtN story?

You choose

Students will deepen their understanding of weather

forecasting and climate change by completing some of the

following activities. Negotiate with students how many

activities they will need to complete.

Remember and understand

Research and create a timeline showing how weather

forecasting has changed over the years.

Create a ten question and answer quiz about

weather forecasting facts.

EPISODE 1

17TH FEBRUARY 2009

Learning Area

Science

Key learning

Students will deepen

their understanding

of weather

forecasting and

climate change.

© ABC 2008

Write an A-Z list of words about weather.

Apply and Analyse

What is the role of a meteorologist? What are the

different parts to the job of a meteorologist and

what skills do they need to have. Present your

information in a creative way to the class or

another student.

Define the term `climate’. Research some causes

of climate change and the potential impact on

Australia.

Research the El Nino or Greenhouse effect and its

potential impact on Australia. Present your

information on a poster or brochure.

Evaluate and create

Go to the following website

http://www.elliotswebsite.com/cws/eec1.php

created by Victorian student Elliot Levin. As a

class, monitor weather conditions in your local

area. Consider what equipment will be needed and

how you will present the data.

Create a game that teaches students about weather

forecasting. Keep the game in the school library

for all students to access.

Further investigations

Organise a visit to the Bureau of Meteorology to see

first-hand how weather forecasting works.

Related Research Links

ABC Rural – Long range forecasting

http://www.abc.net.au/rural/content/2006/s1657300.htm

Bureau of Meteorology – Forecasting the weather

http://www.bom.gov.au/info/ftweather/

CSIRO – Climate and forecasting

http://www.csiro.au/science/pps9c.html

Eliot Levin’s weather monitoring website

http://www.elliotswebsite.com/cws/eec1.php

© ABC 2008

BtN: Episode 1 Transcripts 17/02/08

On this week's Behind the News

The bushfire disaster in Victoria.

We look at how a fire can cause so much destruction.

How families are coping.

And how can we stop it happening again.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to another year of Behind the News.

Also on the show today we see floods that have inundated Queensland but first to the terrible events in Victoria.

Bushfire Disaster Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Australia has been shocked by the worst natural disaster in the nation's history. The massive bushfires that ripped through Victoria killed at least 180 people but that number is expected to increase as hundreds of burnt buildings and cars are searched. Thousands of people have also been left without anywhere to live and have lost all their clothes and possessions. The size of the tragedy has shocked people around the world and many are now asking how can a bushfire have caused so much devastation.

Fire - it's one of our most useful tools and a part of daily life. But out of control it can instantly become one of the deadliest forces on the planet.

KEVIN RUDD: You have been to hell and back and we intend to help you rebuild.

© ABC 2008

JULIA GUILLARD: The 7th February, 2009 will now be remembered as one of the darkest days in Australia's peace-time history.

The weekend from hell started with dire warnings from fire-fighters and the weather bureau. They were expecting high winds, dry air and record temperatures. All in all, they feared that if any fires started, they would be impossible to fight. And they were...

Thirty-one fires ripped through the state, destroying whole towns in minutes. Residents in their path were given little or no warning of how bad it would be.

Scientists say it was like 500 atomic bombs worth of heat being released on these small communities. This was all that was left of the town of Marysville. And this, their school.

Town after town, area after area were destroyed. More than 450,000 hectares were burnt, including around 2000 houses. But worse than that was the number of lives lost. 189 people have been confirmed dead and maybe a million animals also lost their lives. It was easily Australia's worst natural disaster in history.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: But why was it so deadly? Well to answer that, we need to know how a bushfire can go from a tiny spark to a massive inferno.

There are a few factors that can make a small fire turn into something like Saturday's destructive blaze. The weather is a big one. On the day of the fires, there was 47 degree heat in Victoria, along with very dry, but very powerful winds. The heat made fuel - like wood and leaves - burn much easier.

Wind pushed flames through the bush at more than 120 kilometres an hour and blew burning embers up to 15 km from the fire itself. This created all new firefronts with frightening speed. They were the worst conditions ever recorded.

Another factor that made this fire so devastating is the areas that it hit. Much of the parts of Victoria that were burnt are hilly and covered in eucalyptus trees. This also helped the fire move so quickly - fires

© ABC 2008

travel much faster uphill and eucalypts are highly flammable because of the oil in their leaves.

Most of the people living in these areas are nestled right in amongst those trees and hills. For many, there wasn't anything they could do.

Some sheltered in their houses, others decided to evacuate. Some found themselves in cars, or the middle of nowhere. But all said the heat that came off this fire was like nothing they had ever experienced.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: The most dangerous part of a bushfire is the radiant heat, or energy, that's released. Think about a heater. You don't have to put your hand in any flames to get burnt. It's the same with a bushfire, but the heat energy that is released from a fire that big can burn any uncovered skin from a long way away.

Hospitals in Victoria have been flooded with patients suffering terrible burns. Some were injured while fighting the blaze, others were burnt very badly when they were caught without protection. Many will take years to get back to full health. How long it will take their communities to recover is far less certain.

Fire Aftermath Reporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: For most of us it's hard to imagine what it would be like to lose everything you own let alone your loved ones. But right now there are thousands of people in Victoria who are having to deal with just that. But one thing we've seen in the past couple of weeks is that when things are worst you often see people at their best.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: On a local sports ground in the fire zone, life goes on There's a game of cricket, coffee with mates. Friends, neighbours, and strangers doing normal everyday things in a situation that's far from normal.

RED CROSS WORKER: What do you do when you've lost everything? This is home to these people.

© ABC 2008

After the fires people who had lost their homes or couldn't get back to them had to find somewhere to live.

Some stayed with family or neighbours

WOMAN: We left with thongs, t-shirts, that's all.

For others, evacuation centres and ovals became little villages. 13-year old Robin and her family are living in one of the big tents provided by the army which has also brought in portable toilets and bathrooms. Volunteers are giving out free meals, clothes, blankets, and anything else people need and if they need to talk there are professional councillors on hand.

Sometimes it’s kids helping the adults, like Jacob, who's looking out for his dad.

JAKE: You right dad?

STEVE: Yeah, I'm alright.

JAKE: You're shaking.

STEVE: I'm just cold. Just nervous.

No one is being left to go through this alone and all over Australia people are trying to help in whatever way they can. So far Australians have raised more than 100 million dollars for bushfire relief funds. Even schools have got involved. These guys had a casual day to raise money and also donated clothes and groceries.

And people are even giving blood. Centres around the country have been full of people donating the precious red stuff. People with burns will need a lot of that over the next few weeks.

BUSHFIRE SURVIVOR: Everyone, everyone is doing something, and its wonderful.

© ABC 2008

At the camps you can see what a difference it makes. These kids lost everything in the fire but they've already been given toys to play with. And there have been some welcome distractions; like some famous visitors who gave out autographs and hugs.

But it's not just people who need looking after. Lots of people escaped with their pets, which means there are dogs and cats, even ponies. So there are farm animals and injured native animals that all need special care.

BUSHFIRE SURVIVOR: And we're going to need more of these ointments and aloe vera cream.

And farm animals will need feed. Farmers have been sending trucks to help.

So what happens next? Well for many the priority will be finding somewhere more permanent to live. People who had insurance will get money to rebuild. For others there'll be help from the government and charities. But there are some things that can't be replaced.

WHITTLESEA HIGH SCHOOL KIDS: It won't be the same it definite won't be the same not with 6 students who have passed away a teacher who has passed away it definitely won't be the same.

There have been church services for the victims. The Prime Minister has vowed to rebuild these towns brick by brick.

BUSHFIRE SURVIVOR: People who want to stay up here will make this the community that it was.

STEVE, BUSHFIRE SURVIVOR: We're going to build it bigger and better and my wife is going to get the new kitchen she's always wanted.

The horror of Black Saturday will never be forgotten, but with friendship, courage and hard work, these communities will get through together.

Presenter: National Day of Mourning

© ABC 2008

Thanks Sarah and it's been announced that there will be a national day of mourning next Sunday. If you want to send a message of support to everyone affected by the bushfires we have set up a special page on our website. Just go to abc.net.au/btn.

Black Saturday Investigation Reporter, Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Now the question many people are asking is could the disaster have been prevented and how can we stop it happening again. The government has set up a special inquiry to try to answer those questions and many others.

Once the devastation and shock started to subside, many began asking questions. The first was one that the police were quick to answer - how did these fires start?

ASST COMMISSIONER DANNYE MALONEY, PHOENIX TASKFORCE: We believe some of those fires were deliberately lit.

Arson is a serious charge, but those responsible for such a horrific act may be in even bigger trouble.

KEVIN RUDD: What do you say about anyone like that? What do you say? Dunno. Just - there's no words to describe it, other than it's mass murder.

And murder is the charge those responsible might face, if they are caught. To make sure that happens, loads of police have been assigned to the case.

But there are other questions being asked by those caught in the fires too. Some are asking why was there no warning.

Fire information is vital so people can decide whether to leave their homes or get ready to fight the flames.

© ABC 2008

Info was given out over the radio, but the monster blazes moved so quickly that the info was soon out of date. So the government is now looking at a system where messages are sent straight to everyone’s phones and computers.

Forensic scientists are carefully investigating how the fires did their damage to try and answer some other questions too.

One is whether people should even be allowed to stay in their homes. Until now, the advice has been that you can hide from the fire front in your home and then come out when the danger has passed.

But quite a few people died in their houses this time, so now that's being questioned. There's even a suggestion that everyone should be evacuated from areas at risk. Which would be a mammoth job.

Another concern is the rules and regulations for living in the bush. Some houses in these areas are built right amongst the trees. There's now a push for laws to make people clear those trees to keep the flames away from the houses.

Another suggestion is that homes at risk should have special bunkers where people can hide in safety. Even more radical is a suggestion that homes shouldn't be allowed in risky areas at all but that would upset a lot of people.

And while we're talking about clearing trees, there's a call for more burn-offs to reduce the amount of fuel lying around like dead leaves and undergrowth

A burn-off is when fire-fighters deliberately burn an area in a controlled way during a safe time of year. By doing that they reduce the amount of fuel which means if a fire does start in summer it won't be as fierce. But critics say there hasn't been enough of that happening, because we've become too concerned about the environment.

To answer these and many other questions, the government has set up a powerful inquiry to see what can be learnt from these fires. They have the power to question everyone, from politicians, to emergency

© ABC 2008

services, to the families on the ground. So while this freak firestorm may have had a horrible impact right now, the lessons we learn from it may save many more in the future.

Presenter: Website Support

You can tell us your ideas about fire safety on our website.

Now, this story is very upsetting for everyone involved even if you're watching and reading about it thousands of ks away. If you're feeling worried by what you've seen you can go to our website and there's a page there with some advice on how to deal with upsetting stories.

Queensland Floods Reporter, Catherine Ellis

INTRO: While Victorians try to rebuild their lives after the fires, Queenslanders are cleaning up after a natural disaster left parts of their state underwater. It's the wet season in the north of Australia so cyclones and monsoonal rain are expected but not this bad. It's the worst floods in the region's history. Catherine finds out more and takes a look at how floods happen

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTING: The rain started falling on the first of January and just kept coming.

Eventually more than half the state was affected by floods- an area the size of South Australia!

Whole towns were swamped, major roads blocked, homes, businesses and farms destroyed and animals killed.

Ingham, north of Townsville, was the worst affected. It was hit by two major floods in one week.

© ABC 2008

JENNY MORRIS, RESIDENT: That was the second time. The first time it came to the top of the fridge.

BRUNO, RESIDENT: I've been here for 68 years and I've never seen it like this before.

Many people had to be rescued.

And the local school was turned into an evacuation centre.

The Cartwrights were stuck in their home for a week.

JAYNE CARTWRIGHT, MUM: We had water downstairs in our house neck deep. We've lost everything that was downstairs, beds, fridges.

KIERA CARTWRIGHT, DAUGHTER: It has been our first flood in town and it's quite scary to know that this could happen again in the next year or so.

Boats and helicopters had to be used to get fresh food and medicine to people.

The wildlife also suffered. Many animals got washed away.

JENNY: I've seen a metre and a half crocodile over near the creek. I've seen wallabies swimming for their lives and plenty of snakes.

This Freshwater croc got run over trying to cross a road. It survived but it busted the car's tyre!

So how did this flood happen?

CATHERINE: Well since the beginning of the year they've had trillions of litres of rain.

© ABC 2008

As you can imagine, to start with, the thirsty plants and soil soaked it up like a sponge.

But after a while the ground became saturated and when it couldn't take anymore the water just ran off.

It rushed to find lower ground - rivers, creeks or dams. But when they filled up and had more water than they could handle, they burst their banks and that caused even more flooding.

But as well as long periods of heavy rain, there was another type of flooding

called a 'flash flood'. That's where you get lots of rain in a really short space of time.

It's dangerous because the gushing water can carry away cars and people.

CATHERINE: Now after a flood has happened, hilly places can drain water away quite quickly, but in flat areas the water sticks around for a really long time and sewerage and dead things can pollute the water and make people sick.

Even when the water does eventually drain away, it leaves behind a mess that's expensive to clean up.

But despite people's losses in north Queensland, many of their thoughts are with the victims of Victoria's bush fires.

PINO GIANDOMENICO, HINCHINBROOK SHIRE MAYOR: We can replace cars and furniture, but you can't replace lives.

RESIDENT: We're bad up here, but not as bad as Victoria. That's horrible, shocking.

JAYNE: We've lost nothing compared to them.

© ABC 2008

It's been a really tough time for many Australian's, but everyone's doing their bit to try to get people back on their feet.

Presenter

Hope they can get back to normal soon. Now let’s catch up with some of the week's other news. Here's Catherine with the wire.

The Wire

After heavy duty haggling with some opposition pollies, the Federal Government has got the OK for its stimulus package.

It's a funny sounding name but it's a plan to spend billions of dollars to boost the economy and stop people losing jobs.

Two satellites have collided in orbit.

The collision involved a telecommunications satellite from the United States and a Russian satellite.

And the Royal family has unveiled a new website.

It includes a virtual tour of Buckingham Palace and pet profiles .

But there are limits to the Queen's online activities - she won't be blogging, and there's definitely no question of a chatroom.

Quiz

What scale did Australia use to measure temperature before Celsius?

a) Kelvin

© ABC 2008

b) Fahrenheit c) Mercury

Answer: Fahrenheit

Weather Forecasting Reporter, Sarah Larsen

INTRO: As we've seen over the past few weeks the temperature and the weather can have a huge affect on people's lives so predicting what they'll be in the future is really important. All sorts of people rely on weather forecasts; from Emergency workers to farmers, sailors, pilots, and ordinary people planning the week ahead. But how DO weather forecasters know what will happen in the future? Sarah went to find out.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: What does your future hold? Stormy weather, sunshine, drought or floods. Should you plant crops, or take cover?

REPORTER: Usually people think of predicting the future as a lot of hocus pocus, but when it comes to the weather there's no crystal ball gazing involved.

Yep, the future of weather is strictly science

PAUL - Welcome to the weather Bureau. How about we learn how to forecast the weather?

Paul is a Meteorologist and no, it has nothing to do with meteors. A meteorologist is someone who studies the weather!

PAUL: Let's go to the observations area first because that's where the process starts

The first step to predicting the weather is to understand what it's doing now so meteorologists spend a lot of time looking at every

© ABC 2008

aspect of the weather. They measure things like rain, the temperature, and how much water is evaporating. They also look at things like the wind speed and direction and the air pressure which is measured with a barometer. And look at this!

REPORTER: So you do use crystal balls?

PAUL: We do use crystal balls. To measure the sunshine, not to forecast the weather!

The bureau gets weather info from all over the country. There are measuring stations from the Antarctic to the middle of the outback. They even use floating buoys at sea. In the air, there are weather balloons like this, and aeroplanes take measurements all the time. Even further up, satellites are taking picture showing cloud cover and even temperature and all that info comes together here. Over the years the experts have learnt how the different weather ingredients interact with each other and they've actually come up with mathematical equations which help them calculate what the weather will do next. So big computers like this let them crunch enough numbers to see up to seven days into the future. But it wasn't always that easy. In the old days meteorologists had to draw up all the charts and make the calculations by hand.

Lois was a meteorologist during the second world war and she's seen how computers and other technology has changed how we predict weather:

LOIS: It's amazing. To think this can do in a few minutes what used to take us an hour, and hour and a half to do.

Early weather forecasts only predicted a few days into the future. And they weren't as accurate. These days weather forecasters reckon they get it right most of the time.

PAUL: We get the temperature wrong by more than five degrees one day ahead only about five times a year.

As for the week ahead, they're not bad.

© ABC 2008

PAUL: It's maybe about 30 times a year that we get that temperature wrong by more than five degrees.

Any further into the future than that and it gets a bit hazy. That's because, despite all of this science, the weather is chaotic. It's affected by many, many tiny variables and not even this massive computer could crunch enough numbers to tell you, say, if its going to rain on your birthday next year. For that you'd better get a crystal ball!

Presenter

It's pretty hard to light birthday candles in the rain so it might be best to keep and eye on the Bureau of Meteorology website in the lead-up to your big day, just to be sure!

The Score

Time for some sports news now. Here's Catherine.

Lots of sporting clubs have been doing their bit to help out people affected by the bushfires.

Money from games has been donated to the cause and players have worn black armbands as a sign of respect.

In the cricket everyone is talking about this effort by Adam Voges. Some are saying it’s one of the best ever catches.

Closer

Thanks Catherine. That's it for today's show but everyone here at BTN would like to send their best wishes to those affected by the fires and the floods. Don't forget you can also leave YOUR message on our website. Take care and see you next week.