Daily Archives: January 7, 2015

An eastern brown snake in characteristic defensive posture. Photograph: Richard Jackson/Queensland Museum website

Unexpected arrival of the snake, from between the lifesaving flags at Forster beach, causes visitors to flee and lifeguards to warn people away.

Visitors to a beach on the mid-north coast of New South Wales made a hasty retreat on Tuesday after spotting an eastern brown snake, one of the most venomous snakes in the world, emerge from the surf and glide along the sand.

The unusual incident occurred at One Mile beach at Forster. The unexpected arrival of the snake, which emerged right between the lifesaving flags, caused visitors to flee as lifeguards warned people away.

Beachgoer Olivia Moffatt said that visitors were initially afraid it was a shark when lifeguards blew their whistles.

“The snake travelled out of the water and remained on the shore for a while until waves washed up against it,” she told the Great Lakes Advocate.

“Raising its head, it headed for shade towards the lifeguard trailer and happily sat there until again moving up along the beach to the bush.”

The eastern brown snake, which can grow to around 2.5 metres, is thought to be responsible for most human deaths by snakebite in Australia. However, the snake normally only strikes out when it feels threatened.

Stuart Kozlowski, a reptile keeper at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, said it was unusual for eastern brown snakes to emerge from the sea.

“Their habitat is often near the beach, they like to spend time underground in the sand dunes,” he told Guardian Australia. “They quite frequently go into creeks and rivers to cool down and assist with the shedding of skin, but it’s unusual for one to go into the salt water.

“I think it was maybe cooling off or perhaps it was frightened and made a beeline for the water. Some snakes adapt to their environment so it may be a regular thing for this snake.”

Kozlowski said beachgoers did the right thing to move away from the snake rather than recklessly interfere with it.

“You’d definitely want to give it a wide berth,” he said. “Snakes don’t attack people, they defend themselves against a threat. But saying that, brown snakes can be quite territorial, so it’s best if you move away from it.

“It can give a bite that is potentially life-threatening. These are the snakes we take most care with when handling them at the zoo.”

On Tuesday night, a woman who is eight months’ pregnant, was airlifted to Toowoomba hospital in Queensland after being bitten on the foot by a king brown snake.

The woman was in her kitchen at home near Mitchell, almost 600km west of Brisbane, when she was bitten, and remains in a stable condition.

source: theguardian.com

Αυτός ήταν ο μικρότερος αριθμός θυμάτων από τροχαία από το 1923.

Ένα ακόμα ρεκόρ κατέρριψε η μείωση των θανάτων από τροχαία δυστυχήματα στην Πολιτεία της Νέας Νότιας Ουαλίας κατά το χρόνο που μας πέρασε.

Σύμφωνα με τα τελευταία στοιχεία που δόθηκαν στη δημοσιότητα από την Στατιστική Υπηρεσία, ο αριθμός των θανάτων από τροχαία μειώθηκε στα 307 άτομα από σύνολο 333 ατόμων που είχαν χάσει τη ζωή τους δρόμους της Πολιτείας το 2013.

Αυτός ήταν ο μικρότερος αριθμός θυμάτων από το 1923.

Αναφερόμενος στο θέμα, ο αρμόδιος υπουργός δήλωσε ότι παρά το γεγονός ότι ο αριθμός των θυμάτων από τροχαία συνεχίζει κάθε χρόνο να μειώνεται υπάρχουν ακόμα αρκετά περιθώρια βελτίωσης.

Τα στοιχεία δείχνουν, επίσης, ότι, εκτός της νέα μείωση των τυχαίων κατά 7% σε σχέση με πέρσι, την τελευταία δεκαετία η μείωση των τροχαίων έφτασε το 40%, αφού το 2004 είχαν χάσει τη ζωή τους 510 άτομα.

Midas Account features a high interest rate and no account keeping fees

Delphi Bank’s Midas Account has won a gold award for Best Savings Account in the Bank category in Money magazine’s Best of the Best Awards 2015.

One of 111 winners to be honoured in this year’s awards, it is a testament to the bank’s continual efforts in offering its customers tailored banking solutions.

George Tacticos, the bank’s chief executive officer, maintains that the bank has “gone from strength to strength – a pleasing result achieved through the investments we’ve made in our customers and ongoing commitment to ensure their needs come first”.

The award winning Midas Account, which features a high interest rate and no account keeping fees, was also awarded in last year’s Money Best of the Best Awards, winning the silver award.

The recognition is a significant step in the right direction for the small banking institution as it grows and continues to make a mark for itself in the banking world.

source: neos kosmos

The Sampson Flat fire in the Adelaide Hills. Photo: Eugene Klaebe

Erratic conditions including high temperatures and lightning are expected to challenge firefighters in Victoria and South Australia on Wednesday and in coming days, as forecasters also warn of possible floods

In Adelaide, temperatures are expected to reach 37 degrees on Wednesday, with thunderstorms forecast to travel over the Adelaide Hills fire, Brenton Eden, of the state’s Country Fire Service, told ABC News 24.

The thunder was expected to bring rain, but lightning strikes could start fires away from the main fire, Mr Eden said.

The Adelaide Hills fire is now in its sixth day. Overnight 250 firefighters mopped up and blacked out the area, Mr Eden said. From the morning, a fresh team of fire crews from Victoria, NSW and South Australia would begin fighting the fire.

In Victoria, temperatures are expected to soar into the 40s in some country areas on Wednesday, but without strong winds there was no elevated fire risk, the weather bureau and emergency management commissioner Craig Lapsley said.

Mr Lapsley told the ABC that after fires at Moyston, The Rocklands and Hastings in the past week in hot and windy conditions, the state was now facing rains that could lead to floodsat the weekend.

“That’s what Australia brings, all the challenges and we will certainly have them in a week,” Mr Lapsley said.

He said authorities were preparing for “a significant rain event”.

“Particularly in the north-east of the state, where some of the rivers are quite full, we don’t expect major flooding but we are going to see a rain event which will actually help the fire season,” Mr Lapsley said.

He said rivers were expected to fill and some areas could be issued with flood warnings. He said authorities were waiting on final forecasts about the expected rain.

“It is just a matter of how much and over what period,” he said.

Mr Lapsley said Victoria was expected to dry out again over the coming weeks and February would again be a critical time for fire danger.

For Wednesday it was a “blessing” not to have strong winds, he said, but Victorians should be attuned to local conditions. He said the The Rockland-Rees Road fire between Horsham and Hamilton showed how strong winds could suddenly turn a fire.

“Every afternoon, the last three afternoons, that fire has made a run on us, so it is difficult country to control,” Mr Lapsley said.

The Rocklands-Rees Road fire, in the Black Range State Park, is the largest current fire in Victoria, with 1800 hectares affected. It is listed as not yet under control.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster James Taylor confirmed the light northerly winds had kept fire danger in the high to very high range, but no fire weather warnings were current.

“But because of the heat … and the chance of thunderstorm activity, we certainly still need to be vigilant in terms of fire danger,” Mr Taylor said.

The Moyston grassfire is now under control after homes were destroyed and residents evacuated earlier in the week. The Country Fire Authority said the fire’s edge was secured and fire crews would patrol and black out the area.

Victoria’s South West and North Central regions are listed as very high fire risk for Wednesday.

source: smh.com.au