The Australian bushfires of 2019/20 have been some of the most severe the country has seen in recent decades. Up until November of 2019, in New South Wales alone nearly 600 homes were destroyed and 1.65million hectares of land burned(i). The death toll as of the 24th of Jan 2020 is 33. This includes firefighters and rescue workers as well as the general public(ii).

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This loss of life, property and community will have a significant impact on the mental health of the victims, and their family and friends as well as the emergency services. The Australian government has promised $2.7 million in grants to help bring communities back together(iii). They will be handed out in the next 12 months. This will be needed as community is a major part of personality and identity. everyone's idea of Identity is different and can include topics such as race, religion, gender, relationships, community, career or education. Someone's community might be an important part of their sense of self and identity. A town or street being devastated by fire might be detrimental to one person but to another might be a very small worry compared to other features such as infrastructure or career.

A study in 2004 found that after natural disasters people are generally more resilient after the event(iv). Being resilient is a key trait. This can help change people, for good or bad. It helps people cope with future disasters and or incidents.

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There are many psychological effects of natural disasters such as PTSD, anxiety, paranoia and major depressive episodes.

The Australian government has promised $76 million for mental health services in light of the recent bushfire(v). $10.5 million is dedicated to immediate counseling which can help straight away with trauma and guidance after the events. Counseling will be offered as one-to-one, in groups, and though family-based sessions.

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$29.6 million will be for ongoing and long-term support. This long-term support is crucial for the public to be able to access as sometimes people don’t realise that their symptoms are related to PTSD until months or years down the line. This can mean that those who needed the help slip through the net if the support is only available for a short period of time. Research has shown that woman can be more likely to experience PTSD because of acute biological responses.

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By using data and research gathered after other wildfires, we can determine who will be affected the most, how we can help them to recover and how long it will take them to recover. Research done after ’Black Saturday’ bushfires in 2009 shows that 1 in 5 of the victims suffered from PTSD(vi). There were 1017 participants who were from many social-economic backgrounds and for places that were from different severity affected areas(vii).

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The health and psychological effect on rescue workers in Australia will have been affected. The effects will be continued for months, years and decades to come(viii). $16 million has been pledged to support emergency services (ix).

The impacts of natural disasters don’t just affect the people living in the area affected but also family around the victims and rescue workers. The paranoia and anxiety can affect those who are in direct contact with those who are volunteering or working around the fires. Especially those who are rescue workers and volunteers.

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Wildland firefighters and rescue workers can work up to a 60-hour week shift in their height of the season(x). Every 4.3 weeks a member of the emergency services commits suicide(xi). This is in a normal day-to-day situation. When in a crisis or emergency these services might have an increase in this figure. First responders are more likely to have mental health conditions than other populations in Australia and this is backed up by research from Beyond Blue, a mental health organisation based in Australia(xii).

PTSD is commonly associated with jobs that have intense trauma such as the fire service, ambulance, police, and armed forces. Some rescue workers can start to show signs and symptoms of PTSD while they are still at work. Feeling on edge, scared, reacting to loud noises, or certain smells are all symptoms of PTSD(xiii). Many suffers of PTSD will relive the event over and over and have night terrors. This is when many people find it is hard to cope and decide to get medical and therapeutic help.

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In conclusion, the psychological effects are just as important as the infrastructural problems. The Australian government obviously realises how much this issue is going to affects its population in the short and long term and has been putting measures in place to ensure that the day–to-day lives of those affected can be back to as normal as they can be as quickly as they can be.

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References

i Readfearn, G., Evershed, N. and Morton, A. (2020). Australia bushfires factcheck: are this year's fires unprecedented?. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/22/australia-bushfires-factcheck-are-this-years-fires-unprecedented [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].

ii Henriques-Gomes, L. (2020). Bushfires death toll rises to 33 after body found in burnt out house near Moruya. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/24/bushfires-death-toll-rises-to-33-after-body-found-in-burnt-out-house-near-moruya [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].

iv GA, B. (2020). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14736317 [Accessed 4 Mar. 2020].

vi, vii, viii Bryant, R., Waters, E., Gibbs, L., Gallagher, H., Pattison, P., Lusher, D., MacDougall, C., Harms, L., Block, K., Snowdon, E., Sinnott, V., Ireton, G., Richardson, J. and Forbes, D. (2014). Psychological outcomes following the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48(7), pp.634-643.

iii,v, x Australian Government Department of Health. (2020). Australian Government mental health response to bushfire trauma. [online] Available at: https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/emergency-health-management/bushfire-information-and-support/australian-government-mental-health-response-to-bushfire-trauma [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].

x Singh, M. (2020). 'Nobody gets out without damage': what fighting fire does to the body. [online] the Guardian.

xi, xiii The Conversation. (2020). To improve firefighters' mental health, we can't wait for them to reach out – we need to 'reach in'. [online] Available at: http://theconversation.com/to-improve-firefighters-mental-health-we-cant-wait-for-them-to-reach-out-we-need-to-reach-in-129900 [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].

xii Resources.beyondblue.org.au. (2020). [online] Available at: http://resources.beyondblue.org.au/prism/file?token=BL/1898 [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].

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