Published works

Natural hazards are an unavoidable component of life in Australia. Analysis shows the average cost of natural hazards in 2015 totalled $9.6billion, and this figure is projected to increase to $33billion by 2050 (Deloitte Access Economics 2015). These figures correspond to a substantial impact and coupled with the social and environmental impacts of disasters, paint a bleak picture. However, as tomorrow’s risk is a function of today’s decisions with effective risk reduction planning there is significant scope to minimise tomorrow’s impacts. The challenge though exists in that ex-ante analysis on the long term effectiveness of risk reduction strategies, the type of analysis required to justify significant investment and policy decisions, is challenging given the dynamic, complex nature of disaster risk, and the length of assessment period required to consider returns. In response to this and to support improved understanding of future risks and ex-ante testing of risk reduction solutions a tool was developed between researchers and Australian government agencies.