ACT's severe weather changes

To prepare for future events we need to understand the past.

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Fire 18 Jan 2003

In 2003, the Canberra community was devastated by bushfires. Four people died, a total of 470 homes were destroyed, and 2000 businesses, homes and vehicles were damaged. The insurable loss and subsequent repair bill was more than $450 million.

The Canberra bushfires were the second most expensive bushfires in Australian history, second only to the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983, which devastated Victorian and South Australian bushland and killed 75 people.

Contributing Factors

Southern Australia’s natural environments are some of the most fire-prone areas in the world. High temperatures and limited summer rainfall produces conditions of very high fire danger, particularly in eucalypt forests. Sudden strong wind changes often hamper efforts to control blazes and threaten the lives of fire fighters.

Lightning strikes ignited 160 separate fires, which burned for ten days in the adjoining Kosciuszko National Park, before advancing into Canberra suburbs. Severe drought conditions – low relative humidity and high temperatures that endured – and winds of more than 200kmph led to the severe firestorms.

Many have questioned the development of new suburbs so close to natural bushland. Preparing residents for the fire season, training and equipping emergency response teams and developing adequate building codes to protect houses in fire-prone areas are obvious imperatives

Problems for Residents

Many people suffering from smoke inhalation and other fire-related illnesses flooded the Canberra Hospital. Due to a blackout, power was cut to the hospital and it was forced to rely on auxiliary power. The authority coordinating the bushfire response, the Emergency Services Bureau, based in Curtin, also came under threat. Parts of the Lower Molonglo Water Quality Control Centre were destroyed by fire. Had fire breached and ignited chemical storage tanks, the release of toxic gases could have required large scale evacuations of the national capital.

Canberra suffered not just economic loss but significant social devastation. The deaths of four people in this tight-knit community affected many. Those who lost their homes, loved ones, and livelihoods were affected by depression. Much criticism was unleashed against the emergency services crews responsible for controlling the blaze. Accusations of a lack of preparedness and adequate warning meant that many believed more could have been done to avert disaster. As a result, some emergency workers have also been affected by depression, following the disaster.

Regeneration of the vegetation around Canberra has been delayed by continuing drought in the region. Rangers in the national parks fear that native wildlife numbers might never repopulate to previous levels and species native to the district might be lost forever.

Lessons Learned

The ACT, NSW and Federal governments initiated a number of community and official responses to the Canberra bushfire. In particular, the McLeod inquiry delivered a number of findings ranging from recommending an increase in the provision of equipment, to an increase in the number and training of fire brigade crews. The importance of community education and timely information provision were also highlighted. Additionally, through the use of a purpose built bushfire wind tunnel, CSIRO is researching the behaviour of bushfires in different climatic conditions in an attempt to improve fire-fighting capabilities and community safety.

Case study from Green Cross Australia's 'Extreme Weather Heroes'

Click to enlarge image

1/32 Affected area of the ACT The affected areas of the ACT as based on satellite images from 26 Januar. At this stage fires were still burning in the south of the ACT. Bushfire map by Voyager, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at http://bit.ly/19JYMtL

Click to play video

Prepare your rural property for bushfires

1/4 2003 bushfires Andrew Stark talks about the devastating 2003 bushfire in ACT.

1900
1901
1902
1903
- 26 Dec 1903 / Canberra Central
1904
1905
- 1 Jan 1905 / Coree, Cotter River, Paddy's River
1906
1907
1908
- 17 Feb 1908 / Queanbeyan
1909
- Dec 1909 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions

1910
- 23 Jan 1910 / Queanbeyan
1911
- Dec 1911 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
1912
- 28 March 1912 / Queanbeyan
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
- 10 Dec 1918 / Coree, Stromlo, Tuggeranong, Weston Creek
1919

1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
- 7 March 1924 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Coree, Gungahlin + 8 other regions
1925
1926
- 29 Jan 1926 / Cotter River, Paddy's River, Stromlo
1927
1928
1929

1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
- 15 Nov 1934 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
1935
1936
1937
1938
- Dec 1938 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
1939
- 13 Jan 1939 Black Friday | Royalla Fire / Belconnen, Coree, Cotter River, Paddy's River + 6 other regions
- Dec 1939 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions

1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
- Jan 1947 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
1948
1949
- 10 March 1949 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions

1950
1951
1952
- 25 Jan 1952 / Canberra Central, Jerrabomberra, Queanbeyan, Tuggeranong + 6 other regions
- 5 Feb 1952 - Stromlo fire / Stromlo, Tuggeranong, Weston Creek
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
- Dec 1959 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions

1960
1961
- 9 Feb 1961 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Gungahlin, Hall + 5 other regions
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
- 24 Jan 1967 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Gungahlin, Hall + 5 other regions
1968
- Jan 1968 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
1969

1970
- 25 April 1970 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
1971
- Canberra Woden Valley Flood 26 Jan 1971 / Woden Valley
1972
- Dec 1972 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
- 21 Dec 1972 - Pago fire / Stromlo
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
- Jan 1979 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
- 13 Feb 1979 - Hall and Sutton fire / Belconnen, Gungahlin, Hall

1980
1981
1982
1983
- 8 Jan 1983 - Gudgenby fire / Cotter River, Rendezvous Creek
1984
- 9 August 1984 - Oolong Earthquake / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Gungahlin, Hall + 5 other regions
1985
- 2 March 1985 / Canberra Central, Jerrabomberra, Majura, Queanbeyan
1986
1987
1988
- Jan 1988 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
1989

1990
- 13 Jan 1990 / Tuggeranong
- 3 March 1990 / Majura
1991
1992
1993
- 5 April 1993 / Majura
1994
- 8 March 1994 / Tuggeranong
- 6 Nov 1994 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
1995
- 28 Jan 1995 / Canberra Central
- 29 Nov 1995 / Canberra Central
1996
- 5 March 1996 / Majura
1997
- 8 Feb 1997 / Kowen
1998
- 15 Feb 1998 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
- 19 August 1998 / Booth, Cotter River, Mount Clear, Paddy's River + 7 other regions
- 31 Dec 1998 / Booth, Cotter River, Mount Clear, Paddy's River + 7 other regions
1999

2000
2001
- 24 Dec 2001 - Black Christmas / Canberra Central, Jerrabomberra, Queanbeyan, Tuggeranong + 7 other regions
2002
2003
- 14 Jan 2003 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Gungahlin, Hall + 5 other regions
- 18 Jan 2003 / Booth, Coree, Cotter River, Paddy's River + 11 other regions
- 14 March 2003 / Canberra Central
- 24 August 2003 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
- 26 October 2003 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Coree, Gungahlin + 13 other regions
- 16 Nov 2003 / Queanbeyan
2004
- 2 Nov 2004 / Canberra Central, Belconnen
2005
- 20 Jan 2005 / Belconnen, Canberra Central
- Canberra Severe Storm Feb 2005 / Belconnen, Tuggeranong, Weston Creek, Woden Valley + 5 other regions
- 13 Oct 2005 / Gungahlin
- 26 Nov 2005 / Canberra Central
- 2 Dec 2005 / Canberra Central, Weston Creek, Woden Valley, Molonglo Valley
2006
- 6 Jan 2006 / Paddy's River
- 16 Jan 2006 / Belconnen
- 15 Feb 2006 / Belconnen
- 27 Feb 2006 / Canberra Central
- 2 March 2006 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Gungahlin, Hall + 5 other regions
- 21 April 2006 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Gungahlin, Hall + 5 other regions
- 13 August 2006 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Gungahlin, Hall + 5 other regions
- 3 Nov 2006 / Belconnen
- 29 Dec 2006 / Queanbeyan
- 31 Dec 2006 / Tuggeranong, Belconnen
2007
- 10 Feb 2007 / Tuggeranong, Weston Creek
- 23 Feb 2007 / Kowen
- 27 Feb 2007 / Cotter River, Mount Clear, Rendezvous Creek
- 27 Feb 2007 / Belconnen, Canberra Central
- 27 Feb 2007 / Belconnen, Canberra Central
- 18 Nov 2007 / Canberra Central
- 30 Nov 2007 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Jerrabomberra, Queanbeyan + 8 other regions
2008
2009
- 2009 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions

2010
2011
- 5 Jan 2011 / Canberra Central
2012
- 18 Feb 2012 / Gungahlin, Hall
- March 2012 / Cotter River, Paddy's River, Tennent
- March 2012 / Cotter River, Mount Clear, Rendezvous Creek
2013
- Jan 2013 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Gungahlin, Hall
- Jan 2013 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
- 18 June 2013 / Belconnen, Canberra Central, Hall
2014
- Jan 2014 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
- 19 Feb 2014 / Belconnen, Booth, Canberra Central, Coree + 20 other regions
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019

2020
2021
2022
2023
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2025
2026
2027
2028
2029

2000's

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