New on the Knowledge Hub: Black Saturday collection

February 2019 marks the 10 year anniversary of Black Saturday, one of the worst disasters Australia has experienced.

Commemorations were held in the towns that were impacted by the devastating bushfire event, as well as other locations across Victoria and Australia, to remember the 173 lives lost and the significant efforts of those involved in the response and recovery of Black Saturday.

To allow Australians to reflect on this disaster and the journey since, AIDR has developed a Black Saturday Collection on the Knowledge Hub.

The catastrophic loss of life and property prompted a revaluation in the way we prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. The research and developments in this space remain a valuable resource for the emergency management sector and the communities they work with.

In the past ten years, significant work has been done to support communities to prepare and recover, effectively communicate risk and warnings, improve resourcing and collaboration between fire and emergency services and understand the impacts of disasters on human behaviour and wellbeing.

The Knowledge Hub collection features information about Black Saturday on the Disaster Mapper, relevant articles and peer-reviewed research from the Australian Journal of Emergency Management, resources from the Recovery Collection and a selection of other related materials.

The information, research and recovery resources are brought together in the Black Saturday collection to facilitate knowledge development and sharing within the disaster resilience space.

Collecting the lessons of Black Saturday and ensuring they are readily available on the Knowledge Hub allows us to better support disaster resilient communities in the future.