Input needed to improve bushfire maps in the Huon Valley

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain New research examines the important role bushfire maps play in informing how people respond to fire threats, with input from Huon Valley, Tasmania, residents affected by the 2019 Riveaux Road bushfire.

If you are a resident of the Huon Valley in Tasmania and have been affected by bushfires in the past four years (since 2018) and are aged 18 or over, your experiences can help shape bushfire safety through a research interview in February.

The study by Natural Hazards Research Australia and RMIT University is supported by the Tasmania Fire Service and the Huon Valley Council. This will improve the design of maps that show a bushfire’s location and potential spread.

No experience with wildfire spread forecast maps or maps in general is necessary to participate. The research team will ask participants to recall information they received and actions they took during a previous bushfire, along with any role cards played in their response. Participants will also be asked for their perspectives on two pilot maps developed for the study.

The research team will conduct personal interviews in the Huon Valley from 20–28 February and registrations are now encouraged. Online interviews are also possible from 1 February. To participate in either option, register at bit.ly/3fnOCHN and follow the prompts. Participants can also call or email the research team to express interest: (03) 9925 3267 or [email protected]

Dr. Erica Kuligowski, Senior Research Associate at RMIT University, said the input of Huon Valley’s residents will provide important information.

“To improve bushfire maps, we need to know what information people would expect to find on these maps,” said Dr. Kuligowski explains.

“This research will improve bushfire safety by finding out critical information about how TasALERT warning maps are understood, used and more importantly, what actions those under a bushfire threat will take after seeing these maps.

“If you want to have a say in how these maps are designed and communicated in future bushfires, please register for our research.

“This research will help bushfire safety, not just in the Huon Valley or Tasmania, but around Australia as we develop guidance for fire experts so that future bushfire maps can be better understood by the people who need them most,” said Dr. Kuligowski said.

More information:
Predictions in the public: understanding the design, communication and distribution of predictive charts to the public. www.naturalhazards.com.au/rese … up and spread

Provided by Natural Hazards Research Australia

Citation: Input needed to improve bushfire maps in the Huon Valley (2023, January 31) retrieved January 31, 2023 from https://sciencex.com/wire-news/436602628/input-needed-to-improve-bushfire-maps- in -the-huon-vallei.html

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