Hazard Note

Key research findings

Hazard Notes are our series of topically-focused research insights. The series gives a summary of findings or to-date progress for one of the CRC's research themes or projects.

Hazard Note 107 - Urban planning in Victoria

Opportunities for enhanced disaster risk reduction in urban planning in Victoria

mitigation, planning, risk management

Hazard Note 106 - Impact-based forecasting: a new way to predict the community impact of east coast lows

Impact-based forecasting: a new way to predict the community impact of east coast lows

coastal, forecasting, vulnerability

Hazard Note 105 - Enhancements of the Australian Exposure Information Platform: making exposure more accessible

Enhancements of the Australian Exposure Information Platform

exposure, infrastructure, resilience

Hazard Note 104 - Building economic capacity within emergency management: tools and training for managers and practitioners

Building economics capacity within emergency management: tools and training for managers and practitioners

economics, multi-hazard, policy

What can we improve now to prepare for future catastrophic and cascading disasters?

What can we improve now to prepare for future catastrophic and cascading disasters?

capability, emergency management, policy

Hazard Note 102 – Enabling emergency volunteer sustainability: resources for recruitment and retention

Enabling emergency volunteer sustainability: resources for recruitment and retention

non-traditional recruitment, recruitment, volunteering

Hazard Note 101 - Cultural burning in southern Australia

Cultural burning in southern Australia: collaborations based on Indigenous leadership

indigenous communities, resilience, risk management

Driving change with Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC research

Driving change with Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC research

decision making, emergency management, land management

This research considered diversity and inclusion in the emergency management sector and assessed what is needed to support more effective practices.

Using diversity and inclusion to strengthen capability in emergency management

capability, diversity and inclusion, organisational

This research worked with young adult volunteers to develop resources that emergency services can use to promote positive mental health and wellbeing.

How to promote and protect the mental health of young emergency service volunteers

mental health, resilience, volunteering

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: June-August 2021

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: June – August 2021

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Hazard Note 96 presents new natural hazard training units that were developed collaboratively with Indigenous communities to support and reinforce land management capabilities in northern Australia.

Developing a culturally appropriate natural hazards training program for Indigenous communities

indigenous communities, local knowledge, Northern Australia

Bushfire raging on the North Black Range, December 2019. Photo: Ned Dawson/NSW Rural Fire Service

Lessons from Black Summer: how people experienced the 2019/20 NSW fire season

communication, communities, warnings

Hazard Note 94 presents research that used consultation and respect to empower Indigenous communities by enhancing capability to better understand emergency management procedures. Photo: Charles Darwin University.

Building collaborative emergency management capacity in northern Australia

indigenous communities, Northern Australia, resilience

This research describes the Emergency Management Non-Technical Skills tool that can be used to enhance emergency management teamwork. Photo: SA Country Fire Service.

Improving emergency management teamwork using non-technical skills

decision making, emergency management, scenario analysis

This research describes the Key Tasks Cognitive Aid, a new tool that can be used to support emergency management during a crisis. Photo: SA Country Fire Service.

Supporting emergency management team performance during emergencies

decision making, emergency management, multi-hazard

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: March - May 2021

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: March - May 2021

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Hazard Note 90 – Learning lessons from the past with the Inquiries and Reviews Database

Learning lessons from the past with the Inquiries and Reviews Database

decision making, multi-hazard, policy

Hazard Note 89 – How to enhance community recovery after disasters

How to enhance community recovery after disasters

communities, recovery, resilience

provides a clear picture of vegetation and soil dryness across the Australian landscape.

The Australian Flammability Monitoring System: providing a clear picture of landscape dryness

fire, fire impacts, remote sensing

Hazard Note 87 – The Prescribed Burning Atlas: a new system to plan effective prescribed burns

The Prescribed Burning Atlas: a new system to plan effective prescribed burns

fire, prescribed burning, risk management

Hazard Note 86 – Improving risk mitigation through better scenario modelling (UNHaRMED)

Improving risk mitigation through better scenario modelling: a coastal inundation case study

exposure, flood, mitigation

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: December 2020 - February 2021

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: December 2020 – February 2021

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Hazard Note 84 – Closing the gap between research and practice

Closing the gap between research and practice

capability, decision making, emergency management

This research investigated the influence of road characteristics on a motorist's decision to enter floodwater, and the effect this has on fatalities. Photo: NSW State Emergency Service.

How do road characteristics influence flood fatalities?

communication, decision making, flood

Promoting fire-fitness: a proactive approach to enhancing preparedness

communities, emergency management, resilience

Emergency warning messages: do colours and icons improve community readiness to act?

communication, communities, warnings

Emergency warning messages: encouraging readiness to act

communication, communities, warnings

Emergency warning messages: how do community members comprehend them?

communication, communities, warnings

On the frontline: the roles of pharmacists in disasters

capability, multi-hazard, response

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: September - November 2020

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: September - November 2020

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

This research investigated issues of recruitment, retention, diversity and wellbeing among State Emergency Service volunteers. Photo: Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Western Australia

Autonomy, belongingness and competence: the ABCs of emergency volunteer retention

non-traditional recruitment, recruitment, volunteering

Hazard Note 75 - Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: July 2020

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: July 2020

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

The Australian Information Exposure Platform helps government, industry and research agencies understand what is exposed in an area, to inform better decisions before, during and after emergencies. Photo: BNHCRC

The Australian Exposure Information Platform: uncovering national exposure

exposure, framework, resilience

This research explored the complexities of strategic decision making during the deployment of the Australian Urban Search and Rescue team to Fukushima, Japan, in 2011. Photo: Fire and Rescue NSW

Creating psychologically safe teams and managing cognitive bias in strategic decision making

decision making, emergency management, scenario analysis

This research offers strategies that emergency agencies could use to minimise the negative effect of conflicting information during a natural hazard. Photos: Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

Addressing conflicting cues during natural hazards: lessons from emergency agencies

communication, communities, warnings

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: April 2020

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: April 2020

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Photo: Metropolitan Fire Brigade

A step towards zero: understanding preventable residential fire fatalities

fire, risk analysis, vulnerability

Tathra during the bushfire. Photo: Caleb Keeney, Timberline Helicopters.

Understanding bushfire risk, warnings and responses - lessons from the 2018 Reedy Swamp fire

communication, communities, warnings

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook December 2019

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: December 2019

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Temporary erosion at Kingston Beach, Tasmania. Photo: Tim Ramm

Adaption pathways to manage increasing coastal flood risk

coastal, flood, storm surge

The potential impact of 1mm or more of ash fall from a future 1707 type eruption at Mount Fuji, Japan.

Can graph theory help prepare for lifeline failure during a disaster?

infrastructure, modelling, risk analysis

SES volunteers in WA performing a rescue. Photo: Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA.

Motivations, experiences and emotions: being an SES volunteer

capability, communities, volunteering

Spontaneous volunteers with Lismore Helping Hands assisted in the clean up after the 2017 floods in northern NSW. Photo: Lismore Helping Hands

Understanding models for spontaneous volunteering

non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering

Vast areas of Australia, particularly the east coast, have an above normal fire potential this season.

Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: August 2019

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2019

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2019

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Experimental separated v-shaped fire conducted in the CSIRO Pyrotron. Photo: Andrew Sullivan, CSIRO

Pyroconvective interactions and spot fire dynamics

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Photo: Bigstock

Making diversity and inclusion the new normal in emergency services

capability, diversity and inclusion, emergency management

Photo: CFA

Conflicting cues with emergency warnings impacts protective action

communication, communities, warnings

CRC researchers studying a house that burnt down on Black Saturday.

Black Saturday ten years on – what did we discover?

communities, fire, warnings

The National Fires Near Me smartphone application. Photo: NSW Rural Fire Service.

Communicating for maximum comprehension

communication, communities, warnings

Agencies and delegates from the sector gather in Melbourne for the launch of the report. Photo: Craig Sillitoe.

Mental health needs of first responders

mental health, resilience, risk management

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2018-19: November

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Preparing for a flood. Photo: NSW SES

How perceptions about community preparedness influence householders' own hazard readiness

communication, communities, preparedness

Canberra 2003 fire aftermath. Photo: Mick Stanic (CC-BY NC 2.0)

Capturing the variability of wind for modelling the variability of bushfires

fire impacts, fire severity, modelling

This research has developed a new model for estimating flood risk. Photo: NSW State Emergency Service.

New flood model takes rapid, regional approach

communities, flood, modelling

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2018

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2018

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

The importance of including the whole community in training has been a key finding. Photo: Bev Sithole

Remote Indigenous communities welcome two-way training

indigenous communities, Northern Australia, resilience

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2018

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2018

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Waroona bushfire 2016. Photo DFES

Extreme fire behaviour: reconstructing the Waroona fire pyrocumulonimbus and ember storms

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Sign in North Wagga, NSW. Photo: Caroline Wenger

Flood management in a changing climate

flood, mitigation, policy

An early season prescribed burn near Darwin. Photo: Nathan Maddock, Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

Strengthening fire mapping for improved fire management and carbon abatement in north Australia

fire severity, land management, prescribed burning

The Sir Ivan fire. Photo: Nick Moir, Fairfax Media

Community preparedness, warnings and responses: NSW fires 2017

communication, fire severity, warnings

Brisbane floods 2011. Photo: Angus Veitch (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Rhetoric or reality: crisis coordination

decision making, policy, risk management

November update: Southern Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2017-18

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2017-18: November update

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Measuring the intangible benefits of prescribed burning is assisting agencies to better measure the impacts on ecosystems and peoples lives. Photo: Veronique Florec.

Investing in prescribed burning: how much should we spend?

economics, policy, prescribed burning

Assessing a burnt house after Black Saturday.

Removing disaster barriers through policy reform

framework, governance, policy

Royal Park, Launceston, during the June 2016 flood. Photo Flickr upsticksngo_crew

Costs and benefits of flood mitigation in Launceston

economics, flood, mitigation

Photo by South Australia SES

Assessing Australia's resilience to natural hazards

communities, policy, resilience

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2017

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Powerlines impacted by Black Saturday, Strathewen. Photo: David Bruce, Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

Understanding what risk is yours - and what to do about it

decision making, policy, risk management

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2017

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2017

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Two out of three Australian homes have a pet, but they are one of the most overlooked parts of preparing for an emergency. Photo: Jenny Bigelow.

Community taking lead in emergency planning for their animals

animals, communication, communities

This study is investigating how organisations can improve their capacity to learn through experience. Photo: New Zealand Fire Service

Helping agencies learn from experience

decision making, education, risk management

Incident management during the 2015 Sampson Flat fire in South Australia. Photo Mark Thomasson, CFS

Tools to enhance emergency management team performance

decision making, emergency management, multi-hazard

KBDI and the rescaled JASMIN soil dryness for the State Mine fire in NSW, Oct 2013.

Soil moisture prototype improves forecasts

forecasting, land management, soil moisture

Eroding section of Old Bar Beach showing exposed rock at the foot of the dune.

New technologies to better manage coastal erosion

coastal, modelling, storm surge

This research is informing education campaigns for flood safety. Photo: South Australia State Emergency Service

Planning for the future: prioritising mitigation options and improving risk reduction

decision making, economics, mitigation

The research team uses a river surveyor acoustic doppler profiler to measure the topography of the Clarence River upstream of Grafton in NSW. Photo: Stefania Grimaldi

Remote sensing offers better forecasting of riverine floods

flood, hydrology, remote sensing

VGI in disaster management. Photo by Billy Haworth

Digital volunteering in disaster risk reduction: an opportunity or a challenge?

communication, local knowledge, volunteering

Mud Army and SES volunteers working together at the 2011 Queensland floods. Photo: Queensland Fire and Emergency Services

The changing landscape of emergency volunteering in Australia

non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering

Kapernicks Bridge in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland, has been assessed for its vulnerability to earthquakes, as well as retrofitting options. Photo Hessam Mohsen.

Strengthening infrastructure for natural hazard impacts

earthquake, engineering, mitigation

Researcher Graeme Riddell shows SA end-users aspects of the decision support system. Photo Tim Allan

What can economics offer emergency services?

decision making, economics, policy

The Blue Mountains fires in 2013 have provided a wealth of research data that has helped RFS change their approach to bushfire safety. Photo by Gary P Hayes, supplied by NSW RFS.

Fire escalation by downslope winds

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2016-17: November update

fire, fire severity, fire weather

Dr Marta Yebra conducting a grassland fire experiment. Photo: Carolina Luiz

Monitoring and predicting natural hazards

forecasting, modelling, severe weather

Tostaree fire, Victoria, February 2011. Photo: Gail Wright, DELWP.

Next generation fire modelling

fire impacts, fire severity, fire weather

Most flood fatalities occur when victims attempt to cross floodwaters. Photo CFA.

Where, why and how are Australians dying in floods?

decision making, flood, warnings

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2016

fire, fire severity, fire weather

Bushfire outlook for Nth Australia 2016

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2016

fire impacts, fire weather, fuel reduction

Brigade personnel instruct residents how to prepare for a bushfire. Photo: Damien Ford, NSW Rural Fire Service

What is disaster resilience and how can it be measured?

communities, indigenous communities, resilience

Road damage from storm surge, Jimmy's Beach, NSW. Photo NSW SES

Oceans on the rise

coastal, cyclone, storm surge

Sampson Flat fire. Photo by Angry Planet.

Sampson Flat community bushfire experiences

communities, fire, warnings

Bethany and Dean from ACT Parks and Conservation Service measuring coarse woody debris before the burn, in the Cotter Catchment, ACT.

Research for better land management

fuel reduction, land management, prescribed burning

Reducing the risk through fuel reduction burning

Raising the bar on risk reduction policy and planning

governance, planning, policy

November update to the Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook.

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2015-16: November update

fire severity, fire weather, fuel reduction

Flooding in Morayfield, Queensland, as a result of Tropical Cyclone Marcia in February 2015. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Turning warnings into action

communication, tsunami, warnings

Bushfire outlook for southern Australia 2015-16

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2015-16

fire weather, fuel reduction

This research is helping emergency services prepare for future disasters.

Learning from the past, planning for the future

modelling, multi-hazard, risk analysis

Extreme fuel after Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia.

Estimating fuel levels post-cyclone

cyclone, fuel reduction, risk management

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2015

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2015

fire severity, fire weather, forecasting

SES volunteers performing a rescue in bushland. Photo by ACT SES.

Ensuring volunteering is sustainable

non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering

The Bangor fire in SA, 2014. Photo courtesy Tait Schmall/Newscorp

How three South Australian communities responded to the 2014 bushfires

communication, communities, warnings

Researchers in Strathewen after Black Saturday

Capturing community bushfire readiness: Post-bushfire interview studies 2009 - 2014

communities, risk analysis, warnings

Updated seasonal bushfire outlook November 2014

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2014-15: November Update

fire severity, fire weather, forecasting

Southern Australia Bushfire Outlook 2014-15

Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2014-15

fire weather, fuel reduction

2014 North Australia Bushfire Seasonal Outlook

Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2014

fire weather, forecasting, fuel reduction

In the media

21 Oct

ABC Goulburn Murray

Scientists working to predict 'freak' fire weather simulate some of Australia's toughest blazes

20 Oct

Meteorological Technology International

Research sheds light on unexpected behavior of Australia’s Black Summer bushfires

20 Oct

Beef Central

Report finds weather played significant role 2019-20 fires

19 Oct

Bureau of Meteorology

Bushfire insights uncovered with new fire-atmosphere modelling

19 Oct

South Coast Register

New insights into Black Summer’s terrible fires uncovered

19 Oct

Mirage News

Bushfire insights uncovered with new fire-atmosphere modelling

11 Oct

ABC Weather

BOM severe weather outlook for 2021-22 suggests floods, cyclones on the cards

08 Oct

news.com.au

Former fire chief warns of inextinguishable firestorms as climate change poses unprecedented threat to Australia

07 Oct

Mirage News

Survey reveals mental health impact of Black Summer fires on emergency workers

07 Oct

University of Western Australia

Survey reveals mental health impact of Black Summer fires on emergency workers

06 Oct

Busselton-Dunsborough Mail

Time to prepare properties ahead of the bushfire season

27 Sep

Herald Sun

Quake would’ve killed 1400 if it hit Melbourne

27 Sep

The Age

‘We are not safe’: Warning on city buildings as more quakes predicted

27 Sep

Brisbane Times

‘We are not safe’: Warning on city buildings as more quakes predicted

24 Sep

University of Melbourne Pursuit

What Victoria's earthquake tells us about the safety of our structures

Tweets

Tweets by bnhcrc

Landgate FireWatch

Landgate FireWatch Hotspots

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the traditional custodians across all the lands on which we live and work, and we pay our respects to Elders both past and present.

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