A Grass Called ‘Hairy Panic’ Has Engulfed Part of a Small Australian Town
Image: Screenshot from New York Times video

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A Grass Called ‘Hairy Panic’ Has Engulfed Part of a Small Australian Town

It’s not dangerous, it just sucks.
Rachel Pick
New York, US

A small town in Australia is being engulfed by something called "hairy panic," and it's not what you pull out of a clogged shower drain. Hairy panic is the colloquial name for Panicum effusum, a fast-growing grass that can turn into a tumbleweed in very dry conditions, which the town of Wangaratta in Northeast Victoria is currently experiencing.

As you can see in the video, the grass has piled up so high around some homes that it's blocking doors and windows, even reaching roof height. It looks pretty lightweight—like a bunch of off-colored dandelion fluff—but nonetheless excruciating to remove. One man, going at the grass with a leafblower, completely disappears into a cloud of the stuff.

According to a report from the BBC, the condition arose from an exceptionally dry summer paired with a landowner who wasn't paying proper attention to one of his paddocks, allowing the grass to grow out of control.

Luckily, the grass is not a major fire hazard, just extremely annoying to deal with. As one resident told the local news, "It's physically draining and mentally more draining."