CATASTROPHE IN AUSTRALIA

As an expatriate Australian in Papua New Guinea, I watch with horror as fire ravages Australia in the worst disaster in our history.

The cause is said to be the Indian Ocean Dipole. We hope that this is not an annual feature of Australian weather. The annual monsoons should be on their way in the future.

So much has been lost with domestic livestock and wildlife, properties and human life. Australia will take many years to recover.

Firefighters have done a brave and never-ending job to stop the fires and protect property. There have been contingents from New Zealand, Canada, USA and now Papua New Guinea.

It will be important for the nation to find ways to adapt to the climate conditions with protection of forests, conservation of flood waters and fire-proof building material for houses.