Sizzle !
- johannavalentine
- Feb 9, 2016
- 1 min read
Perth is hot. Really hot.
We currently have forecast 5 days of 40 degrees and above *thursday has now been upgraded to 40 degrees
It has however, provided me with an opportunity to review heatwave policies in WA for my Bachelor in Emergency Management degree.
Heatwaves have killed more people than any other natural hazard experienced in Australia
(Coates, L (1996). 'An Overview of fatalities from some natural hazards in Australia, in R.L. Heathcoote, C. Cuttler, and J. Koetz (eds), Natural Disaster Reduction (NDR96): conference proceedings, Institute of Engineers Australia, Canberra, pp 49-54.Available from: http://www.bom.gov.au/wa/sevwx/perth/heatwaves.shtml
A heatwave defined as a period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot weather, which could impact on human health, infrastructure and services.
Contributing factors to a heatwave include:
maximum daily temperature and the minimum night time temperature;
duration of the high temperatures;
humidity and air quality;
urban and rural design; and
local acclimatisation.
The SHC within WA Health is prescribed as the Hazard Management Agency responsible for the response of a heatwave emergency.
For the Perth metropolitan area, the heatwave trigger is defined as “an excess heat factor of 32 degrees Celsius. This excess heat factor calculation is based on both daily maximum and minimum temperatures over a forward looking three day prediction”.
You can find a copy of WA Heatwave plan here
I found a great leaflet by the SES SA which is a great one pager to download and stick on your fridge - you can download a copy here
Other information can be found here
