Victorian is better equipped to respond to a tsunami than a heatwave, the state’s auditor-general says.
In a report tabled in Parliament, auditor-general John Doyle said Victoria Government agencies were not well prepared to respond to heatwaves and there was a lack of clarity about who led the response to managing heatwaves.
There was no state-level emergency plan for heatwaves, even though Victoria had one for tsunamis.
“While heatwaves are estimated to have contributed to more deaths than any other natural disaster nationally, there are no clear arrangements in place in Victoria to prepare for and drive the response to heatwaves,” the report said.
“This means that no agency is making sure all support agencies have activated their heatwave plans or that resources are being directed to where they are needed most, or monitoring the effectiveness of those arrangements.
“As a consequence of the weaknesses in heatwave planning, shortfalls in the preparedness of key agencies are not identified and addressed appropriately.”
No plan for infrastructure failure during heatwaves
The report said Victoria Police did not have an appropriate response plan in place, even though it was listed as the control agency.
Auditor-general John Doyle also found there was no assurance that health services were well prepared for the risk of critical infrastructure failing.
“There are insufficient assurance mechanisms in place to be confident that public health services are well prepared to manage the risk of critical infrastructure failure, such as air conditioning and emergency generators, during a heatwave,” the report said.
“This is a serious risk given that hospitals care for the state’s most vulnerable people, including those susceptible to extreme heat.”
The report said heatwaves had contributed to more deaths than any other natural disaster in Australia but it was not mandatory for state agencies to have a heatwave plan.
The Department of Health estimated there were 374 “excess deaths” during the 2009 heatwave, much greater than the number of deaths in the Black Saturday bushfires the following week.
A government analysis has shown there was a 24 per cent increase in the number of expected deaths during January’s four-day heatwave.
No requirement for agencies to have heatwave plan
The report said the duration and severity of heatwaves was expected to increase, with the average annual number of days above 35 degrees in Melbourne likely to increase from nine days in 2014 to 11 to 13 days in 2030.
It said Victoria’s ageing population and greater levels of chronic disease would make the community more vulnerable, but public health messages were not always appropriate or well-targeted and heat alerts were not always clear or timely.
The auditor-general heard reports of contradictory messages about fire awareness, energy consumption and keeping cool during this year’s heatwave.
“Stakeholders reported that elderly Victorians, who are among the most vulnerable to extreme heat, were restricting the use of air-conditioners because of advice to conserve power,” the report said.
Mr Doyle made eight recommendations for improvements to Emergency Management Victoria and the Department of Health.