NSW Bushfires; How Are They Impacting You?

As bushfires ravage through the southern highlands and Blue Mountains regions of New South Wales, we are faced with an array of confronting and graphic imagery. With over 200 houses lost, and over 100 fires burning across the state at present, our media outlets have been flooded with images and footage from the fire zones, with New South Wales now declared in a state of emergency.

How does this visual content of the disaster areas impact on our lives? For those of us who are not immediately effected by the fires can empathise with those who have been severely impacted by the destructive and devastating effects of this all too common natural disaster Australia faces each summer.

The media, as well as emergency services, rely on the impact of the imagery from scenes of the affected areas to not only report on the crisis at hand, but also educate and inform the public of the danger present. 

Too often, those who are not well informed or keeping current with the most up to date information find themselves more severely impacted and at risk than those who plan ahead and monitor the situation.

Having had my father volunteering in the Rural Fire Brigade for over 30 years, I am well adept to the severity and consequences a brutal fire season can impose. With a vast knowledge and expansive understanding of my role and duties during the event of a fire has greatly impacted on my preservation, and the assistance of others. An excellent example of a modern technological resource that provides a beneficial footage for training and educational purposes for new crews was captured on a modern favourite, the GoPro, by Jonathan Mallin

So how does this relate to you, and how can you benefit from all of this footage? You can see the early warning signs, keep up to date with alerts and emergency situations including evacuations, and do all in your power to prevent endangering yourself and your family through remaining informed and vigilant during the fire season. Too many lives have so far been lost, too many homes and memories perished in the blazes that have engulfed all in their path of destruction. The media uses this graphic footage and inform and illustrate the sheer devastation of this force of nature. These developments in the photographic and video world today only prove to be a positive asset in the digital era.