Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest pledges $70 million to bushfire crisis

Billionaire Australian businessman Andrew Forrest has announced to donate $70 million to the victims amid the ongoing bushfires in Australia. Bushfires in Australia have destroyed almost 2000 homes since it started months ago.

$50 million to disaster resilience

Forrest along with his wife Nicola have pledged to spend $50 million on the national blueprint to fire and disaster resilience to develop new approaches to fight the Australian bushfires. In addition to that, they will also $10 million through the Minderoo Foundation to build a volunteer army which will be deployed to regions devastated by the bushfires. The billionaire family will give another $10 million to communities in collaboration with the Australian Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other agencies on the ground.

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Speaking to international media, Forrest said they are so proud to be Australians and to see everyone rallying together during the cataclysmic time adding that he hopes to raise $500 million through a global campaign to establish a long-term bushfire research project. He further said that they represent a family and their family is there to support other families, the wildlife, the children who are devastated, the parents who have lost farms and properties, homes and dreams. He also further said that they know that it is a matter of national resilience. The Minderoo Foundation has also established a fire fund and the Forrests have pledged to donate $2 to every dollar donated. 

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The fierce fires have killed 24 people, burned over six million hectares of land, reduced to ashes hundreds of homes and pushed many species towards extinction, Australian officials said on Thursday. Authorities also issued fresh warnings and evacuation orders in the country's southeast as hot and windy conditions threatened to regenerate huge bushfires. Around 23 fires were still burning in Victoria, according to the state's emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp. The bushfire crisis has taken a very heavy toll with more than 1,500 homes already lost throughout the course of this fire season, which has been running since September, according to the government. Over 3,000 firefighters are on the frontline, with 31 specialist strike teams in place across NSW.