Posted by DOOR Web-Magazine in General Information | 0 comments
Australia bushfires report calls for response changes
A report into Australia’s worst bushfires has called for sweeping changes to the way the authorities respond to natural disasters.
Some 173 people were killed when fires tore across Victoria in early 2009.
Over 155 days a royal commission heard complaints about a lack of official information from a string of witnesses.
The report says authorities should build shelters in vulnerable areas and devise a full evacuation plan. Victoria has vowed to act swiftly on the report.
The state government says it will make a decisive response to the sharp critique of its actions.
Poor official information about the speed and direction of the fires was a major complaint among the more than 400 witnesses who gave evidence to the commission.
They said the emergency system simply fell apart under pressure.
-BBC
