The Melbourne Newsroom

A long-term study into the health and wellbeing of community members affected by the 2009 Victorian bushfires, is being led by the University of Melbourne.

Melbourne University’s Centre for Advanced Journalism will host a community forum in Marysville next Wednesday, 21 September to discuss the findings of its research into the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.

Houses built in bushfire hotspots that met current Wildfire Management Overlay (WMO) standards were three times more likely to survive the Black Saturday fire conditions, according to a new University study.

Improvements in risk management processes can and should be made to avert the next bushfire catastrophe, says Dr Les Coleman, in the wake of the release of the bushfires Royal Commission interim report.  "It comes back to looking at the risks, putting in place mechanisms to try and reduce those risks ahead of time, and recognising that when these extreme events start to unfold, its really beyond anyone's physical resources to handle every part of it."