Aussie Bush Fires
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@booboo said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Bush Fires:
Another potential issue moving forward is the ability to get home insurance in areas that have a higher than normal fire risk. I know we struggled to find someone that was willing to insure our place. We already pay a fairly high premium, if they refuse to insure us we have a pretty high risk asset.
Can you have a mortgage if you don't have insurance?
@nzzp said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@booboo said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Bush Fires:
Another potential issue moving forward is the ability to get home insurance in areas that have a higher than normal fire risk. I know we struggled to find someone that was willing to insure our place. We already pay a fairly high premium, if they refuse to insure us we have a pretty high risk asset.
Can you have a mortgage if you don't have insurance?
and what's a place worth if no-one can get a mortgage?
See also: sea level rise and flooding risks. Insurers insure until they don't; when the risk becomes likely, insurance no longer works. It's scary stuff
I don't think you can get a mortgage without insurance. If a house become uninsurable it pretty much becomes worthless, this is a risk some may face in the future for sure. I read there is a town in Wales that will be pretty much fucked with sea level rise and at this point no compensation for home owners. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/18/this-is-a-wake-up-call-the-villagers-who-could-be-britains-first-climate-refugees
I wonder how the insurance cost is now after the flooding in Townsville and other areas. The insurance companies will be well aware of trends and it would be interesting to get data from that industry to see if there have been any significant changes in payouts for bush fire damage, flooding etc.
If I eventually cannot get insurance on my block and my house burns down I may have to get a tiny home on wheels that if a fire comes again I can tow my home away
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@chimoaus probably not the place, but fuck insurance. North Queensland is basically not in most companies risk appetite now. It's getting really expensive to insure a house, if you can get coverage. And it took 3 months to find coverage for our business assets after our previous insurer dropped us.
The insurance industry can lick my balls
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@mariner4life said in Aussie Bush Fires:
The insurance industry can lick my balls
They'll charge you for that, with an excess and a declined claim 😀
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@chimoaus said in Aussie Bush Fires:
476 Homes lost in NSW and Perth has its hottest November day ever since records began in 1897.
Heat wave Tuesday this week too.
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Woke up this morning to a smokey house - back burning efforts around the Mount Gosper fire and winds have pushed smoke into the Sydney Basin, with increasing intensity this morning.
It is like a light fog, but the sun is far more prominent. At work today you can see and smell the smoke inside the building.
Some photos:
- My street this morning just before 0800 DST - we woke up to smoke so had to close all the windows which I left open for the cool air overnight. Looking south.
- On the way to work about 10 minutes later - looking NNW toward the fire zone approx 85km away (past :
- From the top floor of the building at work, looking north toward the Blue Mountains. Normally on a clear, hot day like this you can see all the way across the greater Sydney basin. Now the visibility is under 1km.
As the day heats up (39C predicted here, 32 on the coast) the winds will dilute the smoke somewhat. In the peak heat of the day it will get still again. At that point we're all smoked out for the next 12 hours or so.
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@Hooroo said in Aussie Bush Fires:
my Asthma has been as bad as it's been for quite some time.
hhhmmm, my allergies (well very mild at the best of times and hasnt been this bad for years) are peaking at present too, would not expect smoke to do anything but if smoke is getting here, maybe there is a higher pollen count or something too???
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@taniwharugby said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@Hooroo said in Aussie Bush Fires:
my Asthma has been as bad as it's been for quite some time.
hhhmmm, my allergies (well very mild at the best of times and hasnt been this bad for years) are peaking at present too, would not expect smoke to do anything but if smoke is getting here, maybe there is a higher pollen count or something too???
Pollen count is normal for me and I work near pine plantations so you get real pollen storms. This is a bit different than usual for me.
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@Hooroo I have an odd allergy TBF, much worse when I was living in England, and then when we go back, my allergies act up again, but barely an issue in NZ, so my self-diagnosis is that thier pollens are different, so applying same logic to Aus
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Forecast for 41 degrees and 40kmh winds today, if there is a fire, my place is likely fucked. Code red in northern Victoria for first time since 2010. Got my important shit packed and ready to go. I really do take my hat off to all of the fire fighters that do an amazing job in this country.
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@chimoaus stay as safe as you can bro. Hoping the weather/wind/gods play ball and things settle down.
How nervous are folks about fires being purposely lit? with these sorts of conditions and coverage that must be an ongoing concern, let alone any accidental fires starting.
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@Paekakboyz said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@chimoaus stay as safe as you can bro. Hoping the weather/wind/gods play ball and things settle down.
How nervous are folks about fires being purposely lit? with these sorts of conditions and coverage that must be an ongoing concern, let alone any accidental fires starting.
That's one of Mrs Boo's bugbears. Reckons the repeated publicity about the conditions just invites the arsonists.
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@Paekakboyz Thanks, its like a fucken hair dryer outside, currently 40.1. Yeah arson is my biggest fear, why people do it is beyond me. I did the rounds this morning putting out plenty of water for the wildlife, the roos, wallabies and birds all need water too.
This is the view from my place, smoke from the Sydney fires and Im in Victoria.