WATCH: Catriona Gray on Australia's bushfires
MANILA, Philippines — A month after finishing her reign, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray continues to use her platform to forward her advocacies.
This time, she is calling attention to the months-long bushfires that continue to ravage Australia, burning more than 73,000 square kilometers or a land area greater than the Visayas.
“I'm really, really devastated. The really terrifying thing about it is there's only so much that we can do to actually put out the fires because to a certain extent they've become unfightable,” the Australia-born beauty queen told Philstar.com.
Over 100 bushfires have been recorded in Australia since September last year, caused by a myriad of factors like drought, record temperatures, dry lightning, and wind.
“I really call for people to support and donate to...especially the servicemen and firefighters because they are all volunteers. While they're out there fighting these raging flames and putting their lives on the line, their families and their households are not being provided for also.”
The death toll currently stands at 28. Among those whose lives were claimed were volunteer firefighters and breadwinners.
Catriona said everyone can help by reaching out and donating, or even just by spreading awareness about the “the bigger conversation of ‘How are we treating our Earth?’”
“Because at the end of the day, it is a natural climate disaster of a bushfire,” she continued eloquently.
“If we could start talking about it at that level, we really need to be able to look into ways to giving the future generation a world which they can inherit — not something that will be ashes.”
The continent’s bushfire crisis was said to be heightened recently by climate change and some fires were even deliberately started by people.
An estimated one billion animals have been killed, threatening the existence of hundreds of species.
Homes and entire towns have also reportedly been razed to the ground, displacing thousands of families.
Catriona clarified that her parents and their home are on the west side of Australia, whereas the eastern parts were more badly affected, including the “hardest-hit” state of New South Wales.
“Thank God that my family is safe but there are so many families that are displaced without homes. So it really is really devastating what is happening,” she lamented.
“And I hope the people will not just forget about it, will not just see it as a trending topic. I hope that people would really focus on it and do what we can.”
Prayer warriors, please join me in praying for Australia. ???? Father God, I pray for Australia. I pray for rains that would come and dispel the fires that are raging. I pray for your protection over the land, all of its people, their families and wildlife. I pray for the volunteers, the firefighters, the servicemen who are putting their lives at risk every day. We ask for a mighty miracle Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN. ???? Australia is in a state of emergency! For two months, we have seen unprecedented heat and catastrophic bushfires sweep across the nation, with today's forecast to be the worst so far, and the fire season is only just beginning... The damage caused so far devastates me to my core: ? ? - 14.5 million acres of land has been lost. That's six times more than the Amazon fires in 2019. ? - Half a billion animals have been burnt alive, with fears some species of animals and natives have been wiped out completely. ? - 20 people have died, more are missing and the death toll is estimated to rise. ? - 8,000 koalas have died and are now declared "functionally extinct".? - 1,500 homes have been lost, with tens of thousands of people being evacuated and entire towns fleeing for shelter on the beach or boats.?? - Canberra experienced the worst air quality in the world partly from a cloud of smoke as large as Europe.? ? We are experiencing a national crisis, and it is only going to get worse. Right now we need a miracle to stop these fires. Our firefighters are VOLUNTEERS, taking time off from their paying jobs to put their lives on the line for us. Please help & donate to these charities (LINK IN BIO) & if you can't donate, please share this:? ? - @NSWRFS: to help the volunteer firefighters battling on the frontline. ? - @WIRESWILDLIFERESCUE: to help the wildlife victims. ? - @SALVOSAU: to help families & communities affected by the fires with food, resources, etc. ?
577.1k Likes, 11.5k Comments - Catriona Gray (@catriona_gray) on Instagram: "Prayer warriors, please join me in praying for Australia. ???? Father God, I pray for Australia. I..."
— Video by Kat Leandicho
