Aus fire death toll unlikely to rise much above 200: police

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

More than 3,000 firefighters were thrown into battle against the fires and have managed to prevent further losses, but they were still working on five blazes burning out of control on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of AFP.

by Staff Writers
Melbourne (AFP) Feb 18, 2009
The death toll in the worst wildfires in Australia's history is unlikely to rise significantly higher than the 201 already announced, police said Wednesday.

In marked contrast to earlier reports that the toll could go as high as 300, Deputy Commissioner Keiran Walshe said police believed the bodies of people listed as missing had been located.

"At this point in time we are relatively comfortable all those unaccounted for have now been accounted for -- their remains have been located," Walshe told reporters.

The toll would probably rise as police searched through the charred rubble of houses and towns for at least another week but the increase was unlikely to be significant, the national AAP news agency quoted him as saying.

The official toll of 201 includes a firefighter who was killed Tuesday by a falling tree near the town of Marysville, which was almost completely destroyed.

The wildfires swept through the southeastern state of Victoria on February 7, driven by hot winds and record temperatures that had left the countryside as dry as tinder, destroying about 1,800 houses.

More than 3,000 firefighters were thrown into battle against the fires and have managed to prevent further losses, but they were still working on five blazes burning out of control on Wednesday.

A national day of mourning for the victims will be held on Sunday.

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

300 hurt in Bolivia landslide

La Paz (AFP) Feb 17, 2009
At least 300 people have been injured in the Bolivian city of La Paz following a serious mudslide, Mayor Juan del Granado said Tuesday.

AEROSPACE Swiss aircraft firm to cut jobs in Ireland Major airlines call for climate deal to include aviation Bank of China extends massive credit to state aircraft maker Shanghai Airlines seeks capital injection	CAR TECH Nearly 1,500 more cars in Beijing daily: state media China overtakes US as largest auto market: state media Culture shock: Getting a Chinese driver's licence Tesla shifts electric sedan site to win US government loan
MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS Boeing Delivers First Communications Payload To MUOS Prime Contractor Raytheon Delivers Final Sentinel R Mk 1 Aircraft For UK ASTOR System USAF Awards LockMart Team Contract To Extend TSAT Risk Reduction/System Definition Phase Major Test Of Second Advanced EHF MilComms Satellite Underway	MISSILE DEFENSE Does Missile Defense Discourage Nuclear Proliferation Part 14 Raytheon's JLENS Passes Key Milestone The Missile Defense Reality Check Part 13 US may adjust missile defense plans: official
FARM NEWS Trust to save food crops from extinction New caterpillar plague hits Liberia, spreads to Ivory Coast UN unveils ambitious 'green' food programme Good bacteria Can Be EZ Pass For Oral Vaccine Against Anthrax	DISASTER MANAGEMENT Aus fire death toll unlikely to rise much above 200: police 300 hurt in Bolivia landslide Singapore firm to fight Australia fires suit First post-quake "second" child born in China
TECH SPACE Satellite traffic control system urged ABSL Ships First Hardware From Colorado Author's Guild 'studying' Kindle read-aloud feature The Problem Of Space Junk	ROBO SPACE U.S., Chinese scientists build nanorobot NASA And Caltech Test Steep-Terrain Rover NASA And Caltech Test Steep-Terrain Rover ASI Chaos Small Robot To Participate In Series Of Exercises

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement