Poor fellow, my country

North of where I live, up Tully way, two men are missing, swept away in raging floods. North Queensland floods Further North, at the Daintree, a five year old boy has been taken by crocodile as his father plunges into the flooded river to try and save him. The crocodiles are moving to mangrove areas to get away from the fast flowing cold flooded waters. The town of Marysville, Victoria has been wiped from the map. South of me, in Victoria, the country suffers its worst ever fire disaster as Firefighters have worked through the night to battle 31 fires across scorched Victoria. The current front page of the Australian has the full story with links to articles, videos and pictorials

At least 750 homes have been destroyed and more than 330,000ha burnt out, while authorities said some fires – the worst in the nation’s histiry – could take weeks to contain.

The death toll is currently 108 people and there is talk of arsonists being responsible for some of the fires. How you can help from The Australian

THERE are several ways you can help the victims of Victoria’s worst ever bushfires. This morning Victoria Police and the Red Cross have requested people wanting to donate should not use any numbers listed for emergency use only. To donate to the Red Cross State Government Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund: Visit www.redcross.org.au Phone 1800 811 700 Go to any NAB, ANZ, Westpac or Commonwealth Bank branch Go to any Bunnings store Make a direct deposit to the Victorian Bushfire Relief Fund BSB 082-001, Account number 860-046-797 Another appeal set up is the Myer Bushfire Appeal. All proceeds will go to the Salvation Army. Donate at any Victorian Myer store.

Have just spoken to an old friend who lives in Wantirna, a suburb of Melbourne. He is in the Emergency Services and was just about to take off to the disaster area with the forensic team. He has house guests, refugees from the fires who have lost everything but their lives. These people are in shock and need help! Amongst all this death and tragedy there are some good stories. In South Australia where the temperatures exceeded 45 degrees celcius last week comes this pic of a Koala in stress Two points; First; Koalas don’t normally drink water as they gain all their hydration from the eucalypt leaves they eat. I have never seen a Koal drinking water like this one. Secondly, if its 45 degrees C what the hell are bicycle riders doing pedaling up a mountain? The Koala comes out looking the smartest of the lot.