Published works

Bushfires and Natural Hazards are features of the Australian climate and landscape and will continue to pose a threat (Council of Australian Governments (COAG), 2011). These hazards can have profound personal, social, economic and environmental impacts. The impacts of these disasters demand efforts in planning, preparation, response and recovery to improve community resilience. Exposure in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) describes as “what is at risk” that includes people, buildings, infrastructure (transport, energy, communications and water), businesses, hazardous substances, primary and major industries.

Australian Natural Hazards Exposure Information Framework (ANHEF) is aimed at supporting the development of nationally consistent exposure information systems to enable decision-making in disaster management to be evidence-based. This research has reviewed the current literature, engaged end-users and researchers to determine the requirements for both disaster response and disaster mitigation. The project conducted an on-line survey of existing exposure information capabilities in Australia to assess existing data and information capabilities. The survey identified significant gaps in the existing data availability and models to translate the raw data into meaningful information for evidenced-based disaster risk response, recovery and reduction decision-making. Overall, a lack of national consistency in existing data and information capabilities is a limiting factor in evidence-based decision-making. The collective views of data managers, researchers and end-users have formed the basis for exposure information requirements to develop a consistent, standardised exposure information framework that will support vulnerability assessments for disaster risk reduction and socio-economic impact analysis.

The ANHEF presents the exposure elements required to develop information systems to support various phases of disaster risk reduction from a variety of natural hazards at different levels of governance. The document outlines a generic framework to underpin the above mentioned diverse utilisation and is focused on end-user requirements. To reduce complexity in the user levels, the framework categorises the information provision into three levels depending on user requirements such as policy and planning; response and recovery; and research and analysis.

The ANHEF report is completed and being reviewed. Spatial enablement, land-use categorisation, insurance status and metadata are covered in the framework as fundamental information. Buildings are vulnerable from the impact of natural hazards and malevolent acts. The exposure elements of buildings considered are usage, type, structural system, number of storeys, number of basements, wall type, roof type, size, age, attachments, replacement value and contents value. Infrastructure is the lifeline support for communities, the economy and disaster response. The infrastructure sectors considered are transportation, energy, communication, urban water supply, waste management and hazardous substances. Infrastructure assets are vulnerable to the impact of not only natural hazards and malevolent acts but also their own failure. Information on heavy industries exposed to natural hazards is critical to the economy and safety of workers. Major industries, particularly the manufacturing sector, are considered within the scope of this exposure component. An industrial site has many unique elements that are at risk and contribute to the value chain of the economy. Primary industries sector includes agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining. Population exposure with a particular emphasis on the demographic indicators such as remoteness, population density, mobility, socio-economic status, age profile and communication skills are included.

Business exposure information framework, part of ANHEF consists of business definition and activities information that is deemed necessary for disaster management. The framework identifies information requirements on business exposure that address issues of business continuity, disruption, resilience and recovery in disaster management. The framework has identified different elements of business and economics exposure for different economic activity levels such as micro and macro-economic levels, through an extensive literature review and subject area expert and stakeholders consultations. The report is completed and submitted.

Reliability assessment framework, part of ANHEF provides knowledge on the data available for end-user decision-making. The exposure information systems source the data from sources with varied resolutions, quality, standards, aggregations, disaggregations, statistical approximations and estimations. The reliability assessment framework primarily adopts the ISO standards data quality evaluation procedure as well as data provenance framework. The report is completed and under review.

The ANHEF will increase quality, and drive consistency and continuous improvement in Australian DRR. In achieving these outcomes, the framework provides shared strategic directions and priorities for governments, communities and industry sectors to implement the entire framework to build a national exposure information system. The framework also enables and provides guidance for the end-users to identify certain exposure components as a priority for implementation.