Preparing for and responding to natural disasters and environmental emergencies: a guide for state housing authorities

This research found that state housing authorities (SHAs) play a critical role in responding to the needs of individuals and communities affected by natural disasters but can still improve their planning and capacity by studying the experiences and lessons learned from previous disaster response efforts. It presents an international literature review of disaster management policy and practice in the USA, UK and Australia with a focus on housing issues and three case studies examining some of the most common and costly disasters affecting Australian SHAs covering: (i) the floods in Newcastle New South Wales in 2007; (ii) the Australian Capital Territory bushfires in 2003; and (iii) the cyclone Larry in Cairns and far North Queensland in 2006.

It identifies key areas for improvement in SHA disaster preparation, such as better management of data, the development and update of inventories, templates, pro forma and checklists and more routine use of tolls such as risk mapping as well as the effective training of all staff. It also states that SHAs must operate effectively with other agencies in response and recovery, and that there is a need for cross agency understanding of different roles and responsibilities as well as a strong chain of command and control.