<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/11/natural-disasters-forecast-cost-australia-young-people-unicef>
"Kangaroo Valley was hit by raging fires and floods three times in three years.
In 2019, the black summer bushfires had forced Layla Wang’s family to flee
their home. Then in 2022, after floods and landslides isolated the valley, she
was trapped there, spending several “stressful” weeks isolated from school – in
the middle of year 12, with no access to her classes and limited resources.
“I felt like I was just in a constant state of anxiety,” she tells
Guardian
Australia.
“I couldn’t really receive updates, I didn’t know what was going on outside of
the village and I didn’t know what was going on with my friends either. So
essentially, my support system was cut off.”
The high-achieving student believes the situation also resulted in her not
getting into the degree she had worked so hard for.
Experts and advocates fear the lifelong consequences facing young people are
being overlooked in disaster responses as what were previously known as
“one-in-a-hundred years” disasters increase in frequency and severity.
A report by Deloitte, commissioned by Unicef Australia, has found the impact of
disasters on young people aged up to 24 will cost $100bn between now and 2060.
The most significant cost is the loss of lifetime earnings for those who,
following a disaster, do not finish high school.
The report estimates disasters reduce the likelihood of students completing
year 12 by 4.2%, incurring a lifetime cost of more than $1m for each student
who does not and costing the economy $5.3bn per year.
Katie Maskiell, head of policy and advocacy at Unicef Australia, said the
report shows it is crucial to keep students connected to learning after a
disaster.
“That has huge implications for their future, whether or not they go onto
further study, the career they might undertake, the jobs that they might be
able to get in their future,” she said.
Mental health is the second-largest cost of disasters for children and young
people, estimated at $662m a year."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
