Joshua Whittaker

'Shelter-in-place' vs. evacuation in flash floods.

This paper examines the circumstances in which a ‘shelter-in-place’ strategy may be a viable alternative to evacuation during flash floods. While evacuation remains the dominant strategy for a range of hazards, a review of the literature suggests growing awareness of the dangers associated with late evacuations and some limited consideration of shelter-in-place options. This study examines the feasibility of a shelter-in-place strategy for flash floods in Australia through: a review of literatures on evacuation, ‘sheltering-in-place’ and flood fatalities; an analysis of Australian flash flood fatalities and injuries; and interviews with flood and emergency managers. The results demonstrate that the majority of flash flood fatalities (75.7 per cent) have occurred outside when people have entered flood waters in a vehicle or on foot for a range of reasons, including to continue their intended travel, engage in recreational pursuits, continue their work, and evacuate or carry out a rescue. Interviews with emergency managers confirm that while shelter-in-place may not be the preferred option, the strategy may need to be implemented for flash floods when, due to the limited warning times, evacuation is not possible.

Gendered Responses to the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria, Australia

This paper presents findings from a gendered analysis of resident responses to the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires (wildfires) in Victoria, Australia. One hundred and seventy-three people lost their lives in the bushfires and more than 2000 houses were destroyed. Previous research on Black Saturday has largely focused on issues of resident preparedness and response, with limited consideration of the role of gender in household decisions and actions. This paper examines the gendered dimensions of risk awareness, preparedness and response among households affected by the bushfires. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with over 600 survivors and a questionnaire of 1314 households in fire-affected areas. Analysis revealed that women more often wanted to leave than men, who more often wanted to stay and defend property against the bushfires. Nevertheless, findings suggest that broad-brush characterisations of staying to defend as a masculine response and leaving as a feminine response are misguided. Although some women expressed a strong desire to leave, others were resolute on staying to defend. Equally, while some men were determined to stay and defend, others had never considered it an option. Despite this, the research identified numerous instances where disagreement had arisen as a result of differing intentions. Conflict most often stemmed from mens reluctance to leave, and was most apparent where households had not adequately planned or discussed their intended responses. The paper concludes by considering the degree to which the findings are consistent with other research on gender and bushfire, and the implications for bushfire safety policy and practice.

The changing landscape of disaster volunteering: opportunities, responses and gaps in Australia

There is a growing expectation that volunteers will have a greater role in disaster management in the future compared to the past. This is driven largely by a growing focus on building resilience to disasters. At the same time, the wider landscape of volunteering is fundamentally changing in the twenty-first century. This paper considers implications of this changing landscape for the resilience agenda in disaster management, with a focus on Australia. It first reviews major forces and trends impacting on disaster volunteering, highlighting four key developments: the growth of more diverse and episodic volunteering styles, the impact of new communications technology, greater private sector involvement and growing government expectations of and intervention in the voluntary sector. It then examines opportunities in this changing landscape for the Australian emergency management sector across five key strategic areas and provides examples of Australian responses to these opportunities to date. The five areas of focus are: developing more flexible volunteering strategies, harnessing spontaneous volunteering, building capacity to engage digital (and digitally enabled) volunteers, tapping into the growth of employee and skills-based volunteering and co-producing community-based disaster risk reduction. Although there have been considerable steps taken in Australia in some of these areas, overall there is still a long way to go before the sector can take full advantage of emerging opportunities. The paper thus concludes by identifying important research and practice gaps in this area.

Effect of aerobic interval training and caffeine on blood platelet function.

PURPOSE Hyperactive platelets contribute to the thrombotic response in humans, and exercise transiently increases platelet function. Caffeine is routinely used by athletes as an ergogenic aid, but the combined effect of exercise and caffeine on platelet function has not been investigated. METHODS Twelve healthy males were randomly assigned to one of four groups and undertook four experimental trials of a high-intensity aerobic interval training (AIT) bout or rest with ingestion of caffeine (3 mg·kg(-1)) or placebo. AIT was 8 × 5 min at approximately 75% peak power output (approximately 80% V˙O2peak) and 1-min recovery (approximately 40% peak power output, approximately 50% V˙O2peak) intervals. Blood/urine was collected before, 60, and 90 min after capsule ingestion and analyzed for platelet aggregation/activation. RESULTS AIT increased platelet reactivity to adenosine diphosphate (placebo 30.3%, caffeine 13.4%, P < 0.05) and collagen (placebo 10.8%, caffeine 5.1%, P < 0.05) compared with rest. Exercise placebo increased adenosine diphosphate-induced aggregation 90 min postingestion compared with baseline (40.5%, P < 0.05), but the increase when exercise was combined with caffeine was small (6.6%). During the resting caffeine protocol, collagen-induced aggregation was reduced (-4.3%, P < 0.05). AIT increased expression of platelet activation marker PAC-1 with exercise placebo (P < 0.05) but not when combined with caffeine. CONCLUSION A single bout of AIT increases platelet function, but caffeine ingestion (3 mg·kg(-1)) does not exacerbate platelet function at rest or in response to AIT. Our results provide new information showing caffeine at a dose that can elicit ergogenic effects on performance has no detrimental effect on platelet function and may have the potential to attenuate increases in platelet activation and aggregation when undertaking strenuous exercise.

Application of satellite navigation system for emergency warning and alerting

One of the key responsibilities of any government is to communicate and disseminate safety information and warnings to the general public in case of an emergency. Traditionally, warnings are issued by the government through a broadcast approach using communication channels such as TV and radio. However this monopolistic approach is now challenged by new technologies and media capable of providing individualised warnings to personal mobile devices. Location-based emergency services and mobile alerts are becoming increasingly prevalent in the provision of emergency warnings. These new modes of emergency services have been adopted by several countries worldwide including Australia. One example is the Australian National Emergency Alert (EA) which is a telephone-based service enhanced with location-based capabilities. This paper introduces the concept of applying global satellite navigation systems such as the Japanese satellite system in the domain of emergency warning and alerting. The Japanese satellite warning system can be tailored to transmit real-time location-based emergency warnings to peoples mobile devices while not being constrained by the limitations of ground-based communication technologies. A key advantage of satellite based communication is its high resilience to communication network overload and failure of ground systems and network infrastructure during a disaster. This enables people to obtain necessary information anywhere (outdoor) and anytime during times of disaster. A satellite-based warning system could also be integrated with existing warning services and be used as a complementary technology. This paper examines opportunities and challenges for using satellite navigation systems to deliver warnings and safety messages during emergencies and disasters.

Predicting self-evacuation in Australian bushfire

ABSTRACT Australian bushfire safety policy does not require mandatory evacuation from bushfire as practiced in North America and other jurisdictions. Australian householders confronted with a bushfire threat must decide whether they remain and defend their property or evacuate. A better understanding of factors that influence householders’ decisions to self-evacuate can inform bushfire safety policy. Studies have identified variables that motivate evacuation from various hazards, including wildfire, but factors shaping the decision processes are not well understood. The Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) provided a theoretical framework of factors influencing protective response to hazard to analyse the actions of householders affected by two bushfires. Three factors that predict self-evacuation were identified: the perception that evacuation is effective in protecting personal safety; the receipt of official warnings; and perceived threat to property. These findings reinforce the importance of increasing householder awareness and sensitivity to the danger posed by bushfire; the adequacy of people’s bushfire preparedness; the effectiveness of early evacuation in protecting personal safety; and the potential persuasiveness of accurate, relevant and timely official warning messages in influencing safe evacuation from bushfire.