Thursday 3 June 2010

53 000 homeless in fire


Another video about the fire in Hong Kong in 1953, which made 53,000 people homeless overnight. Look at the shot of the hillside, the houses glowing, They're burning. What pictures don't tell is the howling of the wind, fanned by flames, and the showers of embers that burn what they land on, even at a long distance. Fires can break out anywhere, even where you think you're safe, not just on the main front. And the smell, which lingers for weeks. And of course, the people, running. No way to get fire engines in, the houses join on one another, few paths and narrow.  Only water supply is standpipes which melt in the heat. Nowadays people moan about material things. Then, they had a different perspective.

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