As the bushfire season gets underway in NSW it is paramount that fire hazards are reduced around the home and that people have a survival plan.

In an article published today by the Sydney Morning Herald, natural hazards cost Australia more than $6 billion each year, a figure predicted to more than triple in the next 30 years.

At the height of the disaster season, experts are calling on “chronically underinsured” Australians to mitigate risk by planning ahead.

“Two factors that have a strong impact on the ability to bounce back from disasters is the degree of damage sustained and … the ability to financially fund the recovery,” said David Sinai, head of property treaty underwriting at Swiss Re Australia and New Zealand.

“With this in mind, the most important steps should happen well before the disaster strikes.”

In a panel briefing on disaster management hosted by the Australian Science Media Centre, Mr Sinai said home owners needed to ensure they had both the physical and financial resilience to manage a flood, storm, fire or other disaster risk.

Appropriate planning decisions, applying mitigation efforts like flood controls and reducing vulnerability through building codes and retrofitting, are all key to reducing the impact of disaster on assets such as the family home. Click here to view the article in full.

The 5th Australian and New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference will be held at Jupiters Gold Coast, QLD on the 30-31 May 2016. The Conference theme ‘EARTH, FIRE and RAIN’ will continue to examine issues that impact preparedness, resilience, response and capability. To register for the conference CLICK HERE.