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Spatially enabled bushfire recovery

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Abstract

Over the last decade growth in spatial information use for disaster management has been considerable. Maps and spatial data are now recognized as critical elements in each of the four phases of disaster management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The use of spatial information to support the phases of mitigation, preparedness and response to bushfires is widely understood. Less attention, however, has been given to the role of spatial information in the recovery. Moreover, the application of the spatially enabled society concept to bushfire recovery has not been explored. This paper explores the role that spatial information plays and could play in the recovery phase of a bushfire disaster. The bushfires in Victoria, Australia that took place during February 2009 are used as the primary case study. It is found that: Spatial information for recovery requires a pre-existing infrastructure; Spatial capacity must be developed across agencies dealing with recovery; Spatially enabled address and parcel information are the key dataset required to support all recovery tasks; Spatial integration of bushfire datasets (spread and intensity) require linking with planning regimes, and Spatial information that is volunteered could be incorporated into recovery activities.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to John Tulloch, Surveyor-General of Victoria, and Duncan Brooks, Manager, Spatial Business Systems, Spatial Information Infrastructure, Department of Sustainability and Environment Victoria; Mark Garvey, Manager, Geographic Information Systems, Country Fire Authority Victoria; Matt Brown, Senior Business Analyst, Emergency Management Branch, and Pam Williams, Director, Bushfire Recovery Services, Department of Human Services Victoria; Nic Moore, Licensed Surveyor, Survey 21; Matt Elgin, Senior Project Manager, Geomatic Technologies Pty Ltd. By sharing their experiences and information about the use of spatial information during the recovery of the Black Saturday bushfires they have provided invaluable insights for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Katie Elizabeth Potts, Rohan Mark Bennett & Abbas Rajabifard

  2. The University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Rohan Mark Bennett

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  1. Katie Elizabeth Potts
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Correspondence to Katie Elizabeth Potts.

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Potts, K.E., Bennett, R.M. & Rajabifard, A. Spatially enabled bushfire recovery. GeoJournal 78, 151–163 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-011-9437-3

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