bushfires, uncertainty & instability
DESCRIPTION
As a nation who celebrates “droughts and flooding rains” it is odd that we are so resistant to accepting the persistence of bushfires at the urban interface. Bushfires are a part of Australian environment. However, their inevitability does not equate with admitting defeat in the face of overwhelming odds. It does require sound risk management and integration of a range of measures to reduce their impact and to build resilience from their impact.TRANSCRIPT
Lew ShortPrincipal, Emergency Management & Resilience
Bushfires, Uncertainty & Instability
“The world has entered the era of ‘mega crisis’
or catastrophic emergencies’ whose force
and magnitude defy even the best laid plans
and the most robust response systems”Professor Paul ‘t Hart
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Potential:• Loss of radio & telco towers• Loss of situational awareness
Capacity of community to receive and act on triggers
Out of Scale Events• Big events expose the vulnerability of
government• Wicked problems and leaps of faith• The system will break• Blue Mountains
197 house lossesNo deaths
173
374
DeathsBlack Saturday firesAssociated heatwaveWhat level of risk is tolerated?
Sydney Basin drained of fire fighting resources and sent to the Mountains
• What if fires had been burning in northern or southern Sydney OR started in these places when the resources were away?
Winmalee http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-26/nswfire-warnings-disaster-relief-winmalee-meeting-bushfires/5047638
24 October 2013
• Victims of the October 2013 Springwood, Winmalee and Yellow Rock bushfires are launching a class action against power company Endeavour Energy
• ~$200m
Bushfire Challenges• Catastrophic & out of scale events• Ability to manage large scale asymmetric
events• Situational awareness in complex
environments
Challenge: How to make information accessible• In a way that provokes a
response• Gives greater
understanding of risk• Initiates action and
adaptation• Builds capacity• Enhances resilience
Lew ShortPrincipal, Emergency Management & ResilienceEco Logical Australia
Lew Short Lewshort14http://www.slideshare.net/LewShort
Thanks