Natural Hazards Research Australia is excited to announce the commencement of several projects, enhancing knowledge and research capabilities in floods, bushfire and Indigenous-led land management.
Flash flooding case studies to improve predictions and the communication of uncertainty is a collaborative project with the Bureau of Meteorology to explore how research can improve the capacity to forecast severe flooding and, importantly, how to communicate uncertainties around forecasts more clearly to emergency managers and communities.
The research team comprises:
- Dr Carla Mooney, Bureau of Meteorology (research leader)
- Dr Paul Fox-Hughes, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
- Victoria Heinrich, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
- Dr David Wilke, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
- Dr Dragana Zovko-Rajak, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
- Karen Hudson, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
- Dr Carlos Velasco-Forero, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
Fire case studies will use case studies from the New South Wales Lake Conjola/Currowan fire (2019) and Woorooloo fire in Western Australia (2021) to explore the meteorological conditions that led to extreme fire behaviour. This detailed analysis, which isn’t possible in real time during a bushfire, will identify learnings to enable fire agencies to prepare and respond to future bushfires, as well as improve future case study methodologies, which have been identified as valuable learning opportunities. The project will be undertaken in partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology, NSW Rural Fire Service, Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA and the Country Fire Authority.
The research team comprises:
- Dr Mika Peace, Bureau of Meteorology (research leader)
- Dr Jeff Kepert, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
- Sam Suavage, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
- Harvey Ye, Bureau of Meteorology (researcher)
- Dr Sarah Harris, Country Fire Authority Victoria (end-user)
- Laurence McCoy, NSW Rural Fire Service (end-user)
- Jackson Parker, Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA, (end-user)
Community experiences of the 2022 Australian floods – Victoria and South Australia follows on from the extensive work undertaken in Queensland, New South Wales and most recently, Tasmania. Through in-depth interviews and a questionnaire with flood-affected people and emergency management personnel, the research will explore community experiences before, during and after the flooding, with a specific focus on:
- How people responded in areas impacted with moderate and longer lead times for floodwater arriving
- The experiences of First Nations peoples
- The experiences of those who are culturally and linguistically diverse
This research is a partnership between RMIT University, Macquarie University, Monash University, the South Australia SES and Victoria SES.
The research team comprises:
- Dr Erica Kuligowski, RMIT University (research leader)
- A/Prof Mel Taylor, Macquarie University (researcher)
- Bhiamie Eckford-Williamson, Monash University (researcher)
- A/Prof Fiona Miller, Macquarie University (researcher)
- D/Prof Larissa Hjorth, RMIT University (researcher)
- Jamie Devenish, VIC SES (end-user)
- Oshanna Alexander, SA SES (end-user)
Healing Country through Wolgalu/Wiradjuri-led land management will build resilient people and landscapes through rekindling and strengthening Wolgalu/Wiradjuri connections to Country and cultural knowledge, as well as inter-generational knowledge exchange. A key aspect of the project is community telling the story of the project, and their Country. Wolgalu/Wiradjuri Country is in the highlands of south-east New South Wales. This collaborative project is being undertaken by The University of Wollongong, Brungle-Tumut Aboriginal Land Council, Cultural Fire Management Unit (NSW) and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW).
The research team comprises:
- A/Prof Lisa Slater, University of Wollongong (research leader)
- Megan Considine, Wolgalu/Wiradjuri Community, Brungle - Tumut Local Aboriginal Land Council (research leader)
- Aunty Coral Bulgar, Brungle - Tumut Local Aboriginal Land Council (CEO Brungle – Tumult LALC, researcher)
- Jamie Freeman, Wolgalu/Wiradjuri Community, Brungle/Tumut Local Aboriginal Land Council (researcher)
- Ethan Williams, Cultural Fire Management Unit, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW) (end-user)
- Dr Dave Hunter, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW) (end-user)
New PhD student The Centre welcomes Syed Adeel Akhtar to our Postgraduate Research program. Adeel’s PhD at the University of Tasmania, The role of trust-building for effective collaboration: using evidence-based strategies to strengthen disaster response will create a thorough knowledge base to understand best practice to overcome conflicting cultures in emergency management and successfully build trusting relationships.
Adeel’s research seeks to improve inter-team and inter-organisational collaboration in disaster response, with a specific focus on Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams in the Fire and Rescue New South Wales and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. Adeel will explore the importance of trust-building in high-pressure situations faced by USAR teams, particularly during international deployments but also extending the focus on the broader realm of disaster response.