intro to australia

Australia experiences a range of 'natural disasters' including bushfires, floods, severe storms, earthquakes and landslides.  These events cause great financial hardship for individuals and communities, and can result in loss of life. However, these events are also considered both part of the natural cycle of weather patterns in Australia as well as being affected by human factors such as overstocking, vegetation loss, dams, groundwater and irrigation schemes. These patterns are recognised by terms such as a 100-year drought – a drought of severity that is only seen once in a hundred years.  Fire can often follow drought, and drought can be followed by flood.  Severe fires followed by drought can also contribute to soil erosion.

Canberra firestorm, 2003

In mid-January 2003, extreme weather conditions led to multiple outbreaks of fire in Namadgi National Park to the south of Canberra.  Strong winds pushed the fires into forested areas adjoining Canberra and on the afternoon of Saturday 18 January, firestorms fanned by high winds hit Canberra suburbs²⁴. Thousands of hectares of forest and park lands were burnt out

The Millennium Drought
The 2002–2007 drought, or ‘big dry’, was actually two separate droughts, each of about 12 months duration, 2002–03 and 2006–07, which resulted from two separate El Niño events. Crucially, there was no significant wet period between the two events to alleviate the rainfall deficiencies. Not only did the 2002–2007 drought significantly reduce farm production during the event but ongoing effects continued to be felt in many regions following the return of ‘normal’ rainfall patterns.