We’ve always had bushfires. What’s changed, and how does MOTHs fit in?
“We’ve always had bushfires — so what’s changed?” It was a fair question raised by Professor Dan Guttman at the Living with 2°C Plus roundtable on climate adaptation and one that prompted me to write this short response to it. Attendees of the roundtable weren’t asked to answer this question there and then, but I knew the answer immediately all because of MotHs brush with algorithmic uncertainty. What became clear during our recent algorithm nightmare on Facebook, was how critical technology is for regional communities – especially prior to and following a disaster.
So what’s changed? Everything! The climate and us - how we connect, network and, importantly, how communities respond to and recover from disasters. The difference between community response and recovery activities prior to MotHs inception in 2015 and now, has changed considerably, yet the critical infrastructure is lagging behind. That’s why we’re asking individuals, near and far, to play an active role in ensuring sustainable infrastructure, resources and funding to support hybrid groups like ours continue long into the future.
Disasters are a part of Australian life but….
Yes, Australia has always faced storms, floods and bushfires and being in the Yarra Ranges, an area more prone than most, we should know. But climate change is driving disasters that are more frequent, more intense and more far-reaching. This is the first obvious change. Accidental ignitions, once quick to snuff out, are now more likely to become greater threats, thanks to the changing conditions caused by climate change. However, that’s not all that’s changed. The way we communicate and connect has also changed, and in regional and rural areas vulnerable to disaster, this is increasingly happening online.
How communities communicate a respond to disasters has changed too..
We’ve long known that disasters don’t start and end with emergency services. But these days, kitchen table and community hall meetings are complemented by conversations rippling through group chats and Facebook threads.
Communities like MotHs have become more important than ever before, with research showing that the stronger the networks and connections are within a community, the faster communities are perceived to recover. Our activities address the factors that can reduce a community’s capacity to prepare, respond to and recover from bushfires (or other disasters). But what happens when the networks themselves come under threat? That’s what faced MotHs this month.
MotHs online group was suddenly removed from 1000s of our members’ Facebook feeds.
While I’ve discussed why we think this happened, how we addressed it and the outcome in a separate blog (here), what is evident in the graph above is that in an instant, the algorithm change affected an extremely strong community network. It affected the ability for mums to give and receive help, signalling our first major test of our digital resilience.
What does this have to do with disasters, however? Well, amidst this digital blackout, a series of cold fronts came through with strong wind gusts up to 90km per hour. Early warning messages to prepare for this weather event that would have normally reached thousands only reached a handful, and support for those still triggered by the 2021 storms was noticeably missing. The silence was deafening.
Thinking back to February 2021, when the dispute between the Australian government and Facebook over the proposed News Media Bargaining Code inadvertently impacted charities, emergency services, and other large groups’ Facebook pages, it’s clear to see how concerning a digital blackout could be. Had this occurred exactly a year earlier, as Black Summer bushfire-affected communities were just beginning to organise and disseminate localised information and support through Facebook online groups, the impacts of corporate decision-making on these local communities would have been beyond an inconvenience.
As you can see in the graph below, because we activated the plans we’d developed for this very situation, this story has a happy ending. We kept the community informed, even as the platform itself worked against us, and we turned this situation around. That recovery didn’t happen because of funding or official support. It happened because people showed up. We’re relieved but very aware that next time, volunteer efforts may not be enough.
Thanks to our paid subscribers we activated our plan for this situation and quickly turned the situation around.
The event also validated our concerns about the use of commercial social media platforms and the potential risks for groups. Statistics (1,2) show that social media usage differs between men and women in terms of groups, events, and content-sharing activities. Discussing this incident with other groups with a predominantly female identifying membership, it was clear that these changes may disproportionately impact groups like MotHs.
This is important in the context of disasters because of the demographics of volunteers who support communities following a disaster.
The role of volunteers in disaster response and recovery
Since 2015, MotHs has grown into a hybrid community, recognising the members in our online group as a valued part of the network that strengthens connections in our place-based community. During times of disaster, this network helps to mobilise volunteers, share real-time information, and facilitate collaborative efforts with larger organisations. While we coordinate events and programs for the whole community, we see the actions of individual members providing support and recommendations at any time of the day or night. This isn’t the description of a traditionally structured community group, but of a complex (and very adaptive) system where women lead many of the recovery efforts.
This story isn’t unique to us. The University Centre for Rural Health (3)has recently published research on the leadership of women in disaster recovery in the Northern Rivers floods. While public attention focused on dramatic rescues, women were managing food, shelter, mental health care, and complex coordination efforts from homes and community spaces. These women weren’t just supporting their communities; they were holding them together, and groups such as the all-women-coordinated Lismore Region Flood Plain Community Facebook group demonstrate that online groups are instrumental in their recovery.
That’s why we need to act now.
If you agree that long-term disaster recovery and community resilience shouldn’t rely on commercial infrastructure, contact your local MP. Ask them to champion long-term funding for coordination, digital infrastructure, and mental health supports for volunteers. Ask them to rethink disaster resilience funding so that it reflects how recovery really works.
And if you want to be part of something bigger, subscribe to MotHs, share this post, or sign up to volunteer. We’re ready to do more and we’re inviting councils, funders and policymakers to work with us to build a model that’s sustainable, inclusive and prepared for what’s ahead.
So what’s changed?
Yes, the climate. But also the way we communicate, care for each other, rely on local leadership, emotional labour and the digital tools to bridge gaps left by overstretched systems. The risk of social isolation has also changed with increased disasters, making spaces like ours more important than ever. This work is falling on the same shoulders every time, and mostly volunteers. While our volunteers have picked up and run community programs when others have fallen, our vulnerability to digital threats places our future in jeopardy. Please help us to get the message out so that the work of groups like MotHs are acknowledged, resourced and properly funded.
References
The Conversation. (2021). Women are finding support in closed Facebook groups – but running them adds to their burden and stress. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/women-are-finding-support-in-closed-facebook-groups-but-running-them-adds-to-their-burden-and-stress-171215
Giraffe Social Media. (2024). Facebook Demographics: A Visual Guide to Who is Still Using Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.giraffesocialmedia.co.uk/facebook-demographics-a-visual-guide-to-who-is-still-using-facebook-infographic/
University Centre for Rural Health (UCRH). (2023). Governance, collaboration and community organising in rural Australia: A case study of women’s experiences and contributions to community health and well-being in the Northern Rivers, Australia floods. University of Sydney. Summary available via: https://ucrh.edu.au