Economics in disaster recovery

The effects of disasters last for years and they hit some demographics and sectors much harder than others. This webinar on Tuesday 11 August at 11am AEST by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and Deakin University will explain the latest research on the economic and social effects of natural hazards.

Prof Mehmet Ulubasoglu (Deakin University) will present the latest findings into the short- and medium-term economic impacts of disasters on different demographic and sectors in Australia.

Prof Ulubasoglu will use four case studies to explain how understanding the economic resilience of disaster-hit communities can help build more sustainable recovery models that direct funding towards the most vulnerable individuals and groups. The case studies are:

• 2009 Toodyay WA bushfire
• 2009 Victorian Black Saturday bushfires
• 2010/11 Queensland floods 
• 2013 Tropical Cyclone Oswald

This research project Optimising post-disaster recovery interventions in Australia is helping policymakers better understand the sector-disaggregated and demographic-specific impacts of natural hazards and formulate public policies in a way that better distributes budgets and resources towards vulnerable socio-economic groups and sectors of employment.

Find out more on the event page, or learn more about the research and read the latest reports on the case study disasters on the project page.