Australia’s leading natural hazards experts are in Adelaide this week, showcasing the latest research making our communities safer and more resilient.
The Natural Hazards Research Forum 2025 (18-20 June) brings together researchers, emergency services personnel, and disaster risk reduction and resilience organisations to think big and bold to meet the challenge of more frequent and severe natural hazards.
Research showcased includes:
The Australian Disaster Resilience Index (ADRI-2) and State of disaster resilience in Australia 2025 report provide current, evidence-based insights into how communities across Australia can prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural hazards.
ADRI-2, a groundbreaking tool developed in partnership by Natural Hazards Research Australia, the University of New England, and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), unveils a major update since it was first released in 2020.
Transformative scenarios for a climate-changed world is an interactive program challenging emergency organisations to think and plan differently. Expanding organisational and operational scope, the program aims to help organisations better understand the driving forces in the world that interact to shape the future in unpredictable and volatile ways, especially ways humans cannot reliably forecast or predict.
Extreme fire behaviour knowledge modules, developed from research undertaken following the destructive 2019-20 Black Summer fire season, aim to improve the evaluation of extreme fire behaviour risk and provide operational guidance and fire weather intelligence to inform operational response and fireground safety.
Fire conditions during the 2019-20 Black Summer fire season were at times driven by complex interactions between the fire and the atmosphere that produced extreme local fire behaviour, which were extraordinary and challenging to firefighters and led to loss of life.
Predictions in Public: understanding the design, communication and dissemination of predictive maps to the public is developing a model fire spread prediction map to help meet the needs of both emergency service agencies and communities at risk of bushfire, helping ensure safe and effective public response during a bushfire emergency.
The project team recently began developing and testing fire prediction maps to provide a nationally consistent approach to the use of fire spread prediction maps for communicating with community members during an emergency.
Human Factors considers how emergency management decision making can be enhanced ensuring emergency responders, community members and properties are as safe as possible during natural hazards.
Principles and protocols for cultural land management governance and research is the first comprehensive guide for natural hazards researchers to support appropriate engagement with members of First Nations communities in hazards research, supporting First Nations communities and researchers to work together to care for Country and learn from important cultural practices.