wildfires 2019

• deaths


  28
• homes destroyed


  2,000
• animals killed

  1bn
• what % of the koala population perished

  a third
• how much hotter was Australia in 2019 than previous years

  1.5 degrees
• what % was rainfall lower than since 1900

  40% lower
• worst effected states


  New South Wales , Victoria
• how many hectares burned

  20 million hectares
• primary social impacts


  28 deaths

  6000 buildings destroyed

  2000 homes destroyed
• secondary social impacts


  mental health issues

  400 people died due to smoke

  exacerbated asthma
• primary economic impacts


  loss of tourism cost $4bn

  disruption of farms cost $5bn

  firefighting cost $2bn
• secondary economic impacts


  insurance companies increasing prices

  slowing economic activity

  cost for reconstruction of homes and infrastructure
• primary environmental impacts


  400 mega tonnes of co2 released

  1/3 of koala population lost

  1bn animals killed
• secondary environmental


  long term impacts on food webs and ecosystems

  smoke depleted the ozone layer by 3-5%

  smoke decreased air quality
• primary political impacts


  government was criticised for being too slow

  raised awareness of need to tackle climate change and improved disaster response
• secondary political impacts


  The National Bushfire Recovery Agency was created to improve response to bushfires and help with the rehabilitation and reconstruction in affected communities
• short term responses


  - 80,000 firefighters

  - 6,500 army soldiers deployed

  -temporary accommodation

  -government paid out $1000 for every adult effected

  -$200 million raised by spca and wwf for animal rescue and rehabilitation

  -evacutation - warning texts sent to 240,000 people in Victoria
• Long term responses


  - gov committed $2billion to bushfire recovery

  - mental health services for people effected

  - policies to tackle climate change (e.g. renewable energy)
• criticisms

  • planning failures - under resourced firefighters many of whom were volunteers
  • the scale and catastrophic impact of these bushfires were caused—and exacerbated—by a conjunction of cumulative events
  • insufficient early warning and emergency communication systems
• what did the Australian governments 2020 royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements offer

  • recommendations based on a review of the Black Summer fires, including improving government emergency mobilization, enhancing air quality monitoring, increasing climate change adaptation and mitigation, providing additional firefighting resources and support, and improving emergency communication systems