Australian man who lost his family home in bushfires wins $1 million in lottery

An Australian man, who lost his uninsured family home in the deadly bushfire, has won $1 million in a lottery. The anonymous Brisbane resident owned a family property in the northern part of fire-ravaged New South Wales which got destroyed in the blaze last year. According to media reports, the man from Mount Cotton was elated when he received the information about lottery results. 

Calling it a miracle, he said that it has come at the most incredible time and would be able to rebuild the destroyed family property. He had bought the ticket using his wife’s “special numbers”, which were 9, 42, 24, 13, 22, 11, with the supplementary numbers of 26 and 1. Luckily the man took all of the prize worth $1 million since he was the only ‘Division One’ winner in the Gold Lotto draw.

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Fundraisers for supporting victims

The catastrophic bushfires have destroyed wildlife, habitats, and infrastructures, leaving people homeless. Apart from government-funded support, people from across the world are pledging donations and volunteering to help fight the blazes. Australian comedian Celeste Barber has raised more than $45 million for New South Wales Rural fire service after she started a fundraiser on Facebook on January 3. 

Read: Australian Billionaire Andrew Forrest Pledges $70 Million To Bushfire Crisis

American singer Alecia Beth Moore, known professionally as Pink, also pledged a donation of $500,000 to the local fire services and urged people to make donations to help battle the bushfires. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced the establishment of a national bushfire recovery fund with an initial $2 billion. The fund will be used to coordinate a national response to rebuild communities and livelihoods in the aftermath of a catastrophic bushfire. Morrison has warned that the crisis due to bushfires are not over and might go on for months. Speaking to reporters on January 5, Morrison said that Tasmania and Victoria witness more difficult season in January and February so there is still a long way to go.

Read: Celeste Barber's Fundraiser Passes Over $45 Million For Australia Bushfire Crisis

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