If you’ve been on social media or looked at the news lately, you’ve heard about the fires happening right now in Australia and you don’t need an expert to know how bad it is. Fires are sweeping across the country, affecting both animals and humans. More than 70,000 people fled high evacuation areas just last week according to USA Today. 17.9 million acres of Australia has gone up in flames, according to the Country Fire Service with the death toll currently at 27(people) and hundreds of millions of animals, and the money needed for rehabilitation in the billions. The fires have been going on since September, but they don’t look like they are going to stop any time soon.
So how can we help? Already countries have been pitching in to fund for fire services to stop the fires and help the people who escaped get back on their feet. Others have donated food and clothing while the fire-ravaged communities attempt to rebuild what has been destroyed. Listed below are some organizations that you can donate to to help support firefighting and recovery efforts.
- Bushfire Appeal: Protecting Threatened Animals
- Koala Crisis
- Salvation Army – Disaster Appeal
- Red Cross
For those who also want to learn more about the fires here are a couple of articles to check out.
- Cnet : Everything We Know About the Crisis and How You Can Help
- New York Times : What to Read on Australia’s Bushfire
- CNN Perspective on Australian Fires
Thank you Lexington KEAP students at Sayre for donating to Australian Fire Relief!
-AK