To help improve emergency responses for elderly people during bushfires, a project being undertaken by Flinders University’s Professor Beverley Clarke (College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences), Associate Professor Kirstin Ross (College of Science and Engineering), Dr Zoei Sutton and Associate Professor Cassandra Star (College of Business Government and Law) has secured $196,000 from the Australian Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants Program.

More catastrophic bushfire danger days and longer bushfire danger seasons are likely under future climate change scenarios, which means the potential for extreme events is enhanced and the risk to residents living in bushfire prone areas is increased.

To address this, the Flinders team’s project – ‘Facilitating Bushfire Action Planning for the Elderly’ – will study several unresolved issues related to communication and interpretations of fire danger evacuation advice. More specifically, the research will investigate how elderly residents interpret ‘leave early’ messaging, the extent to which self-prepared bushfire action plans have been prepared, and if there is capacity and commitment to activate these plans.

Well-informed disaster preparedness saves money and lives, and self-efficacy (including activating bushfire action plans) is a key to creating community resilience and enhanced recovery. This will address several aspects highlighted in SAFECOM’s 2020 Independent Review into SA’s 2019-2020 Bushfire Season and the Commonwealth’s 2020 Royal Commission into Natural Disaster Arrangements.

Outcomes from the research project will assist councils and emergency services to design messaging specific for elderly people and develop targeted strategies and enhanced integration with aged care services, which will empower and improve the resilience of this vulnerable sector of our community.