When Cyclone Yasi hit north Queensland in 2011, the category 5 disaster shattered lives and caused millions of dollars in damage.
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From the wreckage and response in the days and months afterwards has emerged a guidebook on disaster management, edited by QUT School of Public Health Professor Gerry Fitzgerald.
"Yasi was ... the most scary thing you can confront in terms of climatic events, that hit north Queensland," Professor Fitzgerald said, adding that the community leadership shown in the the aftermath was an example of what government and emergency service providers should encourage and support in future natural and man-made disasters.
"The emergency response directly led to the establishment of the Asbestos Working Group, which in turn has improved responses to public health risks associated with future disasters.
"The community are the first responders in an event, they are the bystanders, they are the people who help out when an event happens.
"It is an important core principle of modern thinking around disaster management to get the community as involved as possible."
Professor Fitzgerald said the health professionals guidebook explained the core principles and perspectives of disaster management from a range of backgrounds, including that of the community sector.
"One of those core principles is about community engagement in disaster management and how important that is," he said.
He said government agencies responding to disasters should recognise and encourage instances where the community suddenly stepped up and took control of itself.
"A lot of the thinking is turning around... rather than trying to stop that or come in as the experts, the thinking now is around how we can support community leadership... how can we, government agencies and the rest of the community in general, support those people to take control of their own lives and get their community back in action," he said.
The guidebook, Disaster Health Management: a primer for students and practitioners, was launched this week by Emergency Management Australia acting director-general Rob Cameron, who said it would help those at the frontline apply lessons learnt from the past towards mitigating the effects of future disasters.
The book features the work of more than 54 authors and all profits from the sale of the text would be donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres.
