A new study is collecting stories about evacuation from those affected by the Maui wildfires, in the hope of better preparing for future disasters.
The fires across Hawaii in August 2023, predominantly on the island of Maui, led to mass evacuations, widespread damage, and the tragic loss of more than 100 lives.
Researchers from RMIT University in Australia and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are now interviewing residents and tourists who were on the island during the fires.
Study lead from RMIT, Dr Tegan Larin, said they wanted to explore key behavioral aspects of wildfire response, particularly evacuation decisions, to make future evacuations safer.
"We are inviting people to share their personal stories and experiences related to why they evacuated, where they went for safety, how they got there, and the impact of official warnings and other factors on their decision-making," she said.
"We understand this can be difficult for people to talk about, but hope that from these experiences we can learn and apply those lessons to inform better guidance for people in future emergencies."
Larin said with wildfires growing in intensity and scale across many regions, including here in Australia, there was potentially huge impact in using lessons learned in Maui to apply both locally and globally.
The researchers are conducting in-person interviews from March 28 to April 8, and online interviews until May 2025.
Anyone aged 18 or older who was impacted by the 2023 Maui wildfires is encouraged to participate in a confidential interview, either in person or online (bit.ly/wildfiremaui).
The RMIT team is led by Dr Erica Kuligowski, an ARC Future Fellow and Principal Research Fellow in the School of Engineering at RMIT.
Kuligowski is a globally recognised expert in evacuation and emergency communications in fire, flood, and other hazards.
