The Southwest Tasmania fires of summer 2018-2019: a post event review capability study

This report outlines the risk landscape in southwest Tasmania, examining trends in climate-change charged bushfire conditions, exposure of people and assets, and their vulnerabilities. It outlines what happened during the event, with a focus on the community safety response. Direct and indirect impacts on people and economies are explored. The summer of 2018-19 (December 2018 – February 2019) was devastating for the Australian state of Tasmania. Fire services were overwhelmed by the multiple, large fires that burned over 200,000 ha across the western half of the island from the end of December through to early March. This report analyses these fires using the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance’s Post Event Review Capability (PERC) methodology. It focuses on community and business resilience; while there have been several reviews into firefighting operations, a more systemic view of resilience is less common.

Key insights are identified across all phases of the disaster cycle. Below we present an abridged version of the final recommendations of the study. Some recommendations include: 

• Augment the emergency warnings system to operate in prolonged events. 
• Contribute to the national conversation on the impact of bushfire smoke on health. 
• Adopt stringent CO2 emissions reduction targets.
• Expand community engagement in bushfire resilience and preparedness programs.
• Clarify and codify the role of the community sector in emergencies and resolution processes.