Lucinda Coates

Lucinda Coates returned to Risk Frontiers in 2007 after a few years’ stint at Forests NSW. She had been a Risk Scientist with Natural Hazards Research Centre since its formation in 1994. Even further back, she was involved in the initial compilation of historical records of Australian natural hazards. This record has now evolved to a complex relational database with Lucinda playing a key role in the transformation. The databases focus on historical, spatial and temporal fatality trends for natural perils in Australia.

Lucinda holds a Graduate Diploma and an MSc in Geosciences, and has a wealth of experience in literature research and data analysis. Recent/current projects include bushfire fatalities and decision analysis; flash flood fatalities and consequences of staying versus going; the 2009 heatwave event in context of adaptation to a changing climate and, of course, the continued updating, maintenance and development of Risk Frontiers’ unique databases on the occurrence and consequences of natural hazards in Australia. Lucinda also manages a small reference library (part of it out of her garage!).

Areas of interest include the vulnerability of sectors of society to natural hazards, historical hazard events and the organisation of absolutely anything, from relational databases to morning teas.