TERROR ALERT: NUCLEAR ATTACK! DARWIN DESTROYED!
Dateline: Darwin, Australia
Reports are still sketchy, but it appears that a nuclear device has been detonated in Darwin Australia. Reports are coming in from isolated settlements about a mushroom cloud and great light in the sky. No reports from Darwin itself are yet possible. Even if any of the town survived, experts say that the electromagnetic pulse would have destroyed any electronic devices within the city.
The Defence Department was unable to be contact to confirm or deny the use of any delivery system, and all defence early warning systems were apparently silent. Experts believe that this was a terrorist device - the much dreaded "suitcase nuke". Reports from the Amberlie Airbase indicate that a wing of F18-Stikefighters are taking off - either to reconnoiter the city or defend against possible attack.
Darwin, with a population of 100,000, has traditionally been the first point of contact for any attack on Australia. During the second world war the city was bombed by the Japanese, and more recently destroyed by Cyclone Tracey. The hardy territorians have rebuilt time and again, but it isn't likely that they will recover from this blow.
More news as it comes to hand.
KAKADU DESTROYED
17th October 2003
The nuclear blast which rocked the world late last week has claimed one more irreplacable casualty. Kakadu National Park has suffered what experts say will be its death blow. The World Heritage bushland has been ravaged and, such is the delicate balance within the ecosystem, it is not expected to recover.
Satellite images reveal that the explosion of last Thursday leveled several hundred square kilometers of bushland. The major damage, however, has been done by the resulting firestorm. With the erratic weather patterns, the raging fires have been able to withstand the rain and have moved through most of the 19800 square kilometers of the park.
The only areas to escape are the wetlands, which have now been flooded by what is believed to be heavily radioactive water. The flora and fauna are not expected to survive the innundation.
Environmental groups around the world have issued statements condemning the destruction. When asked, a government spokesperson responded. "We deeply mourn the loss of one of the greatest pieces of wilderness in the world. We also feel the loss of the 40,000 years of aboriginal culture that the park represented which is now, no doubt, gone as well. The government, however, does not have the resources to deal with the firestorms that resulted from the explosion. We, quite rightly, concentrated on the human tragedy of Darwin. There aren't enough firefighters in the country to fight a blaze of that magnitude."
Fires still rage unchecked through the park and surrounding bushland.
FLOOD WATERS CONTINUE TO RISE
Flood waters, resulting from the storms that followed the attack upon Darwin, continue to rise. Much of the interior lowlands of the Territory have been innundated, with over 30,000 square kilometers currently underwater. All road access to Darwin has been severed by the storm and supplies and personnel are now being flown in from East Timor and the eastern states.
The fear of environmentalists is now that the flood waters will spread radioactive dust across the entire flood plain, destroying large areas of agricultural land, as well as vast tracts of native bushland.
Efforts centre currently on trying to save settlements from the approaching water.
NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING DECLARED
Prime Minister Aaron Patterson has declared that Australia will observe a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Attack on Darwin on the 24th of October. This comes two weeks after the attack.
Flags will be at half mast across the country, and a minutes silence will be observed at the time of attack - 9pm. Immediately preceeding the silence, all television networks will carry an address to the Nation by the Prime Minister.