1. Home
  2. collections

Australia: Black Saturday bushfires 2009

Image

Introduction

On Saturday, February 7, 2009, a series of bushfires blazed across the state of Victoria, killing several dozen people and amounting to billions of dollars in damages. Black Saturday is remembered as one of Australia's worst bushfires.

Share this
www.preventionweb.net/quick/65606 Copy to clipboard

Knowledge base

Research briefs

Bigger, wilder, more destructive: How cold fronts affected the Black Summer bushfires

Cold fronts play a role in making bushfires drastically worse—posing a serious concern for future bushfire events.
University of New South Wales
Cover
Documents and publications
2023

Understanding the Black Summer bushfires through research: a summary of key findings from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

This report presents an integrated view of the way forward from the fires, including exploring why the 2019-20 fire season was so devastating, what new capabilities can be implemented and how Australia can best learn from its worst fire season on record.
Natural Hazards Research Australia
Documents and publications
2021

Disaster management and the need for a reinstated social contract of shared responsibility

In this paper, the authors analyze governmental inquiries and actions undertaken regarding three past catastrophic disasters—2005 Hurricane Katrina (USA), the 2009 Victorian Bushfires (Australia), and the 2011 Queensland Floods (Australia). They assess

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (Elsevier)
Documents and publications
2019

Black Saturday bushfires: counting the cost

This brief presents research undertaken into the economic legacy of Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 in Victoria, Australia. The authors computed the disaster severity of 12 non-contiguous bushfire hotspots of varying sizes within the state of Victoria

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience
Documents and publications
2018

Long-term disaster resilience

This predominantly qualitative research into long-term disaster resilience identifies what helps and hinders individual and community resilience in disasters. It documents the experiences and wisdom of 56 disaster survivors nine years after the 2009 Black

Monash University
Documents and publications
2019

Ten years after the Black Saturday fires, what have we learnt from post-fire research?

Ten years ago, 173 people lost their lives and more than 2000 homes were destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfires. The fires of 7 February 2009 led to a royal commission and significant changes to bushfire management throughout Australia. Research played

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience
Updates

Australia: Climate change is poised to deliver more Black Saturdays in decades to come

Ten years after the Black Saturday bushfires resulted in major fatalities and destruction, climate change is increasingly associated with more days of extreme heat, longer heatwaves and more frequent droughts. With the possibility of another massive catastrophe that could even impact water supplies, risk-informed measures are crucial for avoiding more losses.
Conversation Media Group, the
Updates

What has Australia learned from Black Saturday?

Ten years after Black Saturday ravaged Australia, bushfire communication and coordination, and planning regulations, have seen major improvements. But the disaster also triggered an overemphasis on accountability and technology at the expense of effective fire control. Despite progress, fire assessments, communication, and trade-offs still need work.
Conversation Media Group, the
Documents and publications
2019

Ten years on from the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires: Public information during response, what have we learnt?

Emergency management can be spoken about in terms of ‘Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery’ (PPRR) or the ‘Comprehensive Approach’ to managing disasters and emergencies. This report is focused on public information in the response phase.

Ident

Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre
Documents and publications
2016

Beyond bushfires community resilience and recovery report

A five-year study analyzing the health and wellbeing impacts of the Black Saturday Bushfires in Australia tracked the interplay between mental health and social connections of natural disaster survivors. The results should inform efforts by government

University of Melbourne