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The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of fires that ignited across the Australian state of Victoria during extreme weather conditions on 7 February 2009. Burning around 450,000 ha for over a month, the fires destroyed over 2,100 homes, destroyed several regional towns and were fought by over 5,000 firefighting personnel. Responses to the Black Saturday bushfires included immediate community response, donations and later, international aid efforts, Government inquiries including a Royal Commission and recommendations and discussions from a wide variety of bodies, organisations, authorities and communities. Several of these responses are currently ongoing as of September 2009. ==Government== Federal parliament was suspended due to the emergency. The Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, accepted an offer from the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to dispatch members of the Australian Defence Force to provide assistance in that state. Rudd described the bushfires as an "appalling tragedy for Victoria," saying "Hell and all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Hell's fury unleashed on Victoria: Rudd )〕 Queen Elizabeth II made a donation to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Fund, and stated that she "was shocked and saddened to learn of the terrible toll being exacted by the fires this weekend," and sent "heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have died and... deep sympathy to the many that have lost their homes in this disaster," as well as expressing admiration for the firefighters and other emergency personnel. Similarly, Prince Charles, stated at a reception he hosted for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia: "Both my wife and I were so horrified along with so many other people in this country by the extent of the bush fires because I know every year Australia suffers from dreadful events, but this year somehow it's even more dreadful... We just wanted people to know how deeply we feel for all those families who have suffered so terribly... The sheer extent of the horrors is hard to comprehend I think to people who don't live in Australia or know Australia." It was then announced on 18 February that Princess Anne would represent the Queen at a memorial service to be held in the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, and to tour some of the areas affected by the fires. Australian Greens Party leader Bob Brown told Sky News, that "(fires ) are a sobering reminder of the need for () and the whole world to act and put at a priority the need to tackle climate change," and Chief Commissioner of the Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, who was due to retire in March 2009, announced on 10 February that she would be stepping down early in order to lead a state government committee charged with rebuilding the fire-affected areas. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Reactions to the Black Saturday bushfire crisis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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