Disasters in Australia and New Zealand brings together a collection of essays on the history of disasters in both countries. Leading experts provide a timely interrogation of long-held assumptions about the impacts of bushfires, floods, cyclones and earthquakes, exploring the blurred line between nature and culture, asking what are the anthropogenic causes of ‘natural’ disasters? How have disasters been remembered or forgotten? And how have societies over generations responded to or understood disaster? As climate change escalates disaster risk in Australia, New Zealand and around the world, these questions have assumed greater urgency. This unique collection poses a challenge to learn from past experiences and to implement behavioural and policy change. Rich in oral history and archival research, Disasters in Australia and New Zealand offers practical and illuminating insights that will appeal to historians and disaster scholars across multiple disciplines.

The recent floods that ravaged Queensland saw three-quarters of the state declared a disaster zone from the capital city on the Brisbane River to remote rural communities and caused billions of dollars worth of damage, forcing thousands to abandon their homes. This latest assault by nature reminds us all that, despite its stark beauty, the Australian landscape has a deadly edge. It is a place of flood, fire, earthquake and ferocious storms. The Australian Book of Disasters features enthralling stories of catastrophe and survival and courage in the face of enormous odds. With chapters covering the breadth of this harsh land, it includes detailed accounts of the events burnt into Australia's national memory, from the Dunbar shipwreck in 1857 to the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, and finishing with an in-depth look at the Queensland floods of 2010-2011. From the same series as The Australian Book of True Crime and The Australian Book of Heroism.

In recent times the frequency and severity of natural disasters has placed a clear emphasis on the ability of governments to plan, prepare and respond in an effective way. Disaster Management in Australia examines government coordination when faced with large scale crises, outlining the challenges in managing events such as the 2009 Victorian bushfires and 2011 Queensland floods. The public sector is equipped to deal with policy and service delivery in more routine environments, but crisis management often requires a wider government response where leadership, coordination, social capital, organisational culture and institutions are intertwined in the preparation, response and aftermath of large scale crises. As crises continue to increase in prevalence and severity, this book provides a tangible framework to conceptualise crisis management which can be utilised by researchers, emergency services and government officials alike. Disaster Management in Australia is an important contribution to the study of government coordination of crises and, as such, will be of considerable interest to students and scholars of disaster management, and to policy makers and practitioners looking to refine their approach.

A detailed guide to the design and evaluation of effective disaster learning programs Disaster Education, Communication and Engagement provides a much-needed evidence-based guide for designing effective disaster learning plans and programs that are tailored to local communities and their particular hazard risks. Drawing on the most recent research from disaster psychology, disaster sociology, and education psychology, as well as evaluations of disaster learning programs, the book contains practical guidance for putting in place a proven design framework. The book outlines the steps to take in order to tailor a disaster education, communication and engagement program and highlights illustrative examples of effective programs and activities from around the world. The author includes information on how to identify potential community learners and presents a methodology for understanding the at-risk community, its hazard risks, disaster risk reduction, and emergency management arrangements. Disaster Education, Communication and Engagement describes both country-wide campaigns and local disaster programs that involve community participation. This important resource: Presents a detailed framework to guide the design and evaluation of tailored disaster learning programs Includes information that links disaster resilience with sustainability and climate change learning Describes the ‘disaster cycle’ and reviews learning content and methods related to the cycle Explains effective ways to combine disaster education, disaster communications, and disaster-related engagement Contains material on using new technologies such as gamification, virtual reality, and social media Written for emergency managers, students of emergency management, and humanitarian courses, Disaster Education, Communication and Engagement is a hands-on guide filled with ideas and templates for designing and evaluating targeted disaster learning programs.

"Jan Hendrycks confesses that one day he had been called by Jeronimus into his tent and that he gave him to know that at night time he must help him with the murder of the Predikant's family. At night, Zeevonk has called outside Wiebrecht Clausen, a young girl, whom Jan Hendrycks stabbed with a dagger, and inside, all people-the mother with her six children-had their heads battered in with axes . . .He said, certainly, I have a knife. So without any objection, Andreas has gone to Myken Soers who was heavily pregnant and threw her underfoot and cut her throat . . ."-Extracts from Francisco Pelsaert's The Disastrous Voyage of the Ship Batavia, first published in 1647 --- Mutiny, murder, rape, torture; a priceless treasure fuelling the basest human greed; a courageous journey in search of rescue-the story of the Batavia, wrecked off the coast of Western Australia in 1629, has been part of the myth and legend of Australian history. Ten years of meticulous research resulted in Voyage to Disaster, a historical tour de force comprising the complete journals of Francisco Pelsaert translated from the Old Dutch by E. D. Drok, together with a revealing biography of Pelsaert, a man of many dimensions-writer, historian, administrator. Following the success of previous paperback editions, Voyage to Disaster is now available in hardback.

A toe curling, laugh out loud collection of worst day disasters. I’d always rolled my eyes when people describe things as 'happening in slow motion'. Surely everything happens in regular time and it's only when you replay it in your head that it seems to slow down?But as the car lurched forward and I found myself sailing through the back of the garage, I finally understood what they meant. When a trip to meet his new girlfriend’s grandparents ends in disaster (think a crashed ute, an angry wasp and a cranky farmer with a shotgun), Thomas Mitchell knows one thing for sure: bad days make for great stories. While we might not like to admit it, we can't help but find a sneaky pleasure in other people's misfortune. It's the reason fail compilations rack up millions of views on YouTube or television shows like Funniest Home Videos exist at all. Deep down we're addicted to the downfall of our fellow humans, and if there was ever a point in history when we needed a laugh, it's now. Today I F***D Up is a collection of tall tales but true that are equal parts hilarious and horrifying; a timely reminder that no matter how terrible things get, they could always be worse. So much worse. Praise for Today I F***D Up 'Today I F****d Up turns disaster, catastrophes, abject humiliation and pure mortification into gold. Essential reading for anyone who's been there as many times as I have. Read the book, and you'll laugh for sure, and you just might also cry.' Markus Zusak `You know those days where everything goes wrong? We’ve all had them and now Thomas Mitchell has written a book about them. It’s very funny. You can do what we love to do the most... laugh at other people’s expense.’ Larry Emdur `If you’re in need of a good laugh do yourself a favour and give it a read.’ Francesca Hung `Thomas Mitchell has written a book. He says it’s hilarious and I concur!’ Samantha Armytage `I’m reading this – it’s so good. Thomas Mitchell is very funny. And talented. If you want a laugh and a great read – can’t recommend it enough.’ Sally Obermeder `He’s hilarious!’ Kylie Gillies `Ever had a bad day? It’s nothing compared to the hilarious stories in this book. Filled to the brim with stories about dating, sex, losing your job, capitulating in a job interview and accidentally throwing a house party (we’ve all been there), Mitchell has compiled the best of the best for your enjoyment.’ Pop Sugar `Bad day? This book will help you feel 100 per cent better about your life choices.’ TV WEEK

Greg Mullins followed his father into fighting bushfires – it was in the blood. He fought major fires around Sydney and the Blue Mountains for decades, and studied bushfires in Europe, Canada and the US. He risked his life in the 1994 Sydney fires and, later, during our catastrophic Black Summer of 2019–20. As a career firefighter, he worked his way up the ranks to become Commissioner of one of the world’s largest fire services, Fire and Rescue NSW, for nearly fourteen years. When it came to natural disasters there was little, if anything, he hadn’t witnessed first-hand. Over five decades he watched as weather patterns and natural disaster risks changed, seeing bushfires becoming bigger, hotter and more destructive. He talked to scientists and weighed their evidence with his experience, coming to the realisation that man-made global warming was setting the stage for a deadly firestorm. In early 2019 he tried to warn the government that a Black Summer was imminent so that adequate preparations could be made. . . But when he and former fire chiefs from across the country tried to meet with politicians to sound an urgent warning, they were ignored. Combining thrilling stories of what it’s like to be on the front line of Australia’s first giga-fire with the hard truths of human-caused climate change, Firestorm is a compelling account of raging fire, political evasion, settled science, and one man’s courageous, urgent call to action for all Australians.

In 2015, Amanda McClelland was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal, in recognition of an extraordinary career dedicated to making a difference. As a nurse and a humanitarian aid worker she has battled against extreme poverty, disease epidemics and natural disasters, helping to rebuild broken lives and strengthen communities across the globe. From nursing in remote Indigenous communities in Australia's Top End to re-building villages after the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami in Aceh, from fighting famine in Sub Saharan Africa to facing kidnapping on the war-torn streets of Mogadishu, from battling cyclone damage in PNG to heading up the Red Cross's West African Ebola response, Amanda has faced huge challenges and collected incredible stories along the way. Emergencies Only is not a compendium of tragedy, but an eye-opening life-lesson in practicality, compassion and good humour, written with empathy and an eye for detail, and filled with the human stories that lie behind the headlines.

Easy-to-follow explanations help you understand the underlying causes of all types of disasters.

A gripping account of the worst disasters to hit Australia since Federation From bushfires to cyclones; sinking ships; train and plane crashes; mine explosions and bridge collapses; the Port Arthur massacre and the Bali bombings; Australia has suffered numerous terrible tragedies. Bestselling author and historian Dr Jonathan King recounts the most extreme disasters to have hit Australia, opening each account with stories of the victims who died or whose lives were irrevocably changed by them, detailing the events and conditions that contributed to them, and telling inspiring tales of heroism and bravery in response to them. Dr King also shows how many of the disasters were caused by avoidable human error or negligence and warns that global warming will cause ever more extreme weather events. Dreadful as they've been, most Australian tragedies have resulted in constructive initiatives such as tighter gun controls in response to the Port Arthur shootings; stricter regulations for transport by air, sea and rail; and safer conditions for workers. Thought-provoking and gripping, Great Disasters in Australian History takes you on a rollercoaster ride through more than a century of tragedies that have rocked our nation.