Conference to explore if we're ready for more extreme hazards

16 May 2019

Stretch your thinking on natural hazards management - 17 to 19 June, Canberra

Is our current state of knowledge in natural hazards adequately preparing us for an extreme weather event of a scale beyond our experience? Your voice will count, and your vision is needed at the 12th Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference in Canberra, 17-19 June.

Earlybird prices end next Monday, 20 May. Register now.

Consider this scenario

Next summer, a long-running heatwave and drought is broken by a cyclone and widespread flooding along Australia’s coastal regions, and across the Tasman Sea into New Zealand. Under this multi-hazard scenario our systems – both natural and constructed – are pushed beyond their limits to the point of fail. Many people’s lives and livelihoods are threatened.

Consider the year 2035

Communities have continued to expand, with higher density cities and with urban dwellings pushing further into the bush. Along with it has come more essential infrastructure – power, water, roads, rail, telecommunications, hospitals, schools and retail. Everyday living is increasingly dependent on new technologies. As the climate warms, severe weather events are more common.

Consider the scenario in 2035

This series of rolling extreme weather events is neither unprecedented nor unlikely, but they come on top of all the other changes across society. Our capacity to resist and mimimise the potential massive impacts of interconnected extreme natural hazards in our future is defined by the knowledge and preparations that we create today. Are we ready for something in 2035 that is beyond what we can imagine happening today?

Your view is needed
Through a series of keynote presentations and expert panel discussions designed for audience contribution, the conference will be unlike any other conference you have attended. Attendance will be limited to allow for plenty of good discussion and debate. Participants will be required to contribute. New ways of thinking about the issues will be encouraged. Your views will count. Your vision on how to use research and influence policy is needed.

Download the program now

The conference will feature keynotes from:

Animesh Kumar – Deputy Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Regional Office for Asia and Pacific
Mark Crosweller – First Assistant Secretary, National Resilience Taskforce
Robert de Castella – Director of the Indigenous Marathon Foundation, former Australian of the Year and Olympian
Jo Horrocks – Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management, New Zealand

Pricing (including GST)

Registration type Earlybird Full

CRC Member $550 $660

Non-member $660 $770

The 12th Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference is supported by the Department of Home Affairs, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, and the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk, which is part of the International Science Council and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Participants include: