What's New in Knowledge | August 2026

A big-ticket item in Australian emergency management this month was the initial nationwide test of AusAlert on Monday the 27th of July. AusAlert is a new National Warning System that uses cell broadcast technology to send emergency warnings to mobile phones within a selected geographic area. Read more about AusAlert, how it works, why it was tested, and what it will be used for. The national test of the system was overall deemed a success. According to the federal government, the alert was able to reach a staggering amount of the population, however this hasn’t deterred people from spreading various conspiracy theories online. This ABC News article dives into a few of the conspiracy theories that have been circulating online. Meanwhile, this commentary asks us to think about who AusAlert works for and who it might leave behind.  

This month we are also seeing extensive wildfires in Europe, Canada, and the United States, affecting communities, infrastructure, public health, and natural environments. You can find current data on the European fires here, United States here, and Canada here. The European Union has deployed the largest ever wildfire response this summer, and the heatwave fuelled fires are drawing attention to the impacts of climate change on future fire regimes in Europe, see for example here and here.  

Australian and New Zealand personnel have been deployed to assist in the United States, and more are deploying to Canada. This research from last year found the overlap in fire seasons between Australia and North America is increasing, which could put pressure on resource sharing between the continents in future. The increase is driven by the fire weather season lengthening in eastern Australia.  

Turning to understanding consequences and recovery, the Parliament of Victoria has released its report into the 2026 summer fires across the state. The report makes 80 recommendations to fix ‘systemic shortcomings in fuel management, emergency communications, animal welfare response, infrastructure resilience, volunteer support, recovery coordination and community recovery’. In Western Australia, research into the resilience of rural communities finds that rural communities demonstrate remarkable adaptability and self-reliance in crises. Yet their long-term recovery capacity is increasingly strained by systemic challenges and the growing burden on local resources. 

Focusing on systemic risk, this commentary in Conversation Australia explains what was behind the second major Telstra network outage that occurred this month impacting Triple Zero calls, and how it points to a bigger systemic vulnerability.  

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute uses an exploratory comparative analysis of adaptation governance across selected countries and US states to examine both the recognition of systemic risks and how systemic thinking is put into action. It finds that while adaptation policies increasingly talk about interconnected and systemic climate risks, far fewer act on them through mandates, budgets, appraisal rules, delivery systems, and accountability. 

In disaster risk reduction, this paper shares Australian research that examined the features, needs, and experiences associated with communication for compound natural hazards – multiple disasters occurring simultaneously or in succession in a location. It finds that compound natural hazards pose distinct communication challenges, resulting in a transformed and complex communication landscape. 

This journal article looks at women’s leadership in the 2022 flood event in the Northern Rivers region of NSW and the key roles women played in the spontaneous community-based response.  

This solution brief by the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance looks at how community resilience action groups (CRAGs) in Bangladesh are strengthening local governance and promoted sustainable, long-term community resilience in highly flood-prone districts. 

In looking at First Nations knowledge, this report evaluates the impact of the inaugural 12-day Australia Women-in-Fire Prescribed Training Exchange (AUS WTREX) program. It draws attention to Australia’s workforce of First Nations women in fire and land management and highlights the profound positive impacts that culturally responsive professional development programs can have on this cohort. An NITV article examines the important role of Indigenous rangers in responding to bird flu in Australia. Meanwhile, this BBC article explores how Australia is combining modern technology and Indigenous knowledge to fight wildfires.  

Turning to children and young people in disasters, the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network has shared insights from a review of 12 serious games focused on wildfires and other disasters. Across Europe and beyond, educators and civil protection practitioners are increasingly turning to serious games to help young people learn about hazards, preparedness and resilience. 

In research on equity and inequity this month, this paper presents a practice-based evidence synthesis of 15 years of gender, disaster, and climate change research undertaken in Australia through the Gender and Disaster Pod (GAD Pod) and, subsequently, Gender and Disaster Australia (GADAus). Despite growing recognition that disasters are profoundly gendered, relatively little has been written about how research evidence is translated into sustained policy, practice, and institutional change.  

 This Guardian article uses Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) general social survey data to examine life dissatisfaction. Based on the 2025 survey data, nearly 2.2 million Australians 15 years and older are living below the wellbeing poverty line, with the share of people reporting very low life satisfaction doubling over the past decade. Nearly one in 10 Australians (9.7%) rated their general satisfaction with life at 4 or below out of 10. 

In different news this month, the University of New South Wales Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, has released a resource brief recommending that disaster-related displacement be explicitly incorporated into the proposed Treaty on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters (PPED Treaty). It explains that disasters displace millions of people every year, with almost 70% of all internal displacement in 2024 caused by disasters, yet the current draft treaty gives little attention to this issue. The PPED Treaty is intended to be a legally binding instrument on the protection of persons in the event of disasters.   

Focusing on extreme heat, this Conversation Australia article covers what we know about heatwaves and how they are making life harder for those experiencing homelessness, for example access to water or sun protection. On a different note, this article shares the experience of teachers across the United States teaching during summer heatwaves and the effects this has on the students and their ability to learn and focus.  

In health, this commentary shares the implications of sea level rise on health, and how the newly announced Lancet Commission on Sea-Level Rise, Health and Justice is bringing together experts from different fields and regions, with support from the World Health Organization Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health, to show that health, justice, and climate impacts are closely connected.  

Meanwhile, this study investigates associations between ambient temperature and hospital admissions for mental health disorders among children, adolescents and young adults. It concluded that high temperatures were associated with increased hospital admissions for mental health disorders among children and young adults, and that climate change is projected to amplify this burden. 

In looking at governance, leadership, and capacity building, a policy brief from La Trobe University with evidence from research with Northern Victorian Emergency Management Cluster covers the need for strengthening collaborative emergency management across the state. 

On the international stage, the World Bank has released a Handbook for Liveable and Resilient Cities with a focus on preventing and reducing the impacts of natural hazards and risks and the effects of climate change.  

In looking at new developments in technology this month, ESRI have added a disaster imagery explorer to their Living Atlas to aid first responders with timely and accessible imagery. 

In WNIK TV, the makers of the Me, Myself and Disaster podcast have released a free-to-stream documentary called Right Help, Right Time that explores how communities have mobilised during disasters. It is available to watch here.  

For WNIK Radio this month, listen to journalist Michael Rowland share his insights into the evolving role of media during disasters in the latest episode of the Me, Myself and Disaster podcast. There are also brand-new episodes to watch/listen to of the How to Disaster podcast, with episodes this month covering topics such as the importance of knowing your neighbours when a disaster strikes, the art of recovery, why relationships matter, and what recovery requires from local governments.