www.awnw.com.au
Issue #216 – Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Albury Wodonga’s largest circulating newspaper
Aussie idol takes the stage She might have been runner-up on Australian Idol, but the reaction she received from Border fans on Sunday was first class. FOR MORE ON JESSICA’S STELLAR PERFORMANCE, TURN TO PAGE 30
As hot as it gets By KRYSTEN MANUEL “HOTTER than the devil’s backside and dry as a drover’s dog.” However you say it, last week the Border battled one of the biggest heatwaves of the century according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). Across NSW and Victoria emergency services were run off their feet, but BOM says while we can still expect a warmer than average February and March, the worst is over for now. “It’s an equal record with the Black Saturday Fires in 2009, and we have data back to1962, with five consecutive days over 40 degrees,” BOM climatologist Acacia Pepler said. “It’s up there with the biggest heatwave of the last 100 years. “What’s interesting is it’s the second heatwave of January, the first hitting Northern NSW and this is following 2013 as the warmest year on record for Australia.” The Border’s five-day heatwave began on Tuesday with 41.2 degrees, Wednesday climbed to 41.8, Thursday to 43.6, Friday 42.6 (just one degree off the hottest January day on record), and Saturday back to 41.2. Despite warnings to stay inside, utilise air-conditioning, drink plenty of water and keep an eye on those particularly vulnerable to heat, many paramedics were doing back to back shifts to keep up with demand. Call-outs to cases of heat exhaustion were 505 in total for Victoria, with the most recorded on Thursday at 163. Cardiac arrests totalled 208 with the most, 77 cases, recorded on Friday, and 60 children were left in cars over the six day period from Monday to Saturday. In the Hume region, 20 cases of heat exhaustion were recorded with the most, eight, recorded on Wednesday. Ambulance Victoria CEO Greg
Chris Schulz and his two children Olivia and Boadie doing their best to keep cool at Noreuil Park. Sassella has thanked paramedics and the community for their efforts during this week’s heatwave. “While many people were able to escape the heat by staying inside with the air-conditioner on, our paramedics, ambulance community officers and community emergency response teams were working outside helping their
communities throughout the unprecedented heatwave,” Mr Sassella said. “Our ambulance community officers and community emergency response teams had the additional difficulty of juggling ambulance and other work commitments, while some of them and our paramedics also faced fire threats to their own homes.
“Unfortunately we experienced similar challenges in 2009 during the heatwave and Black Saturday of that time and this would also have preyed on the minds of our staff and those of other emergency services.” Ambulance NSW spokesperson Jacqui Levett said paramedics treated a multitude of people as a result of high
temperatures throughout NSW, with Albury paramedics still battling an increased workload. “Our paramedics, firefighters and all emergency services in the area at the moment are very busy because of the heat and the fires,” she said. “So they’ve certainly ramped up their efforts at the moment.”
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