Bushfire communications collapse leaves communities blind as power outages kill
During Victoria's January fire, Castlemaine resident Fiannuala Morgan lost phone connection. She couldn't access her emergency app when she needed it most.
When a severe bushfire moved toward Castlemaine in January 2026, resident Fiannuala Morgan watched her emergency app freeze. Morgan's phone lost connection at the moment she needed information.
The power went out and made the NBN stop working. The local broadcasting tower burned and cut off ABC radio.
Morgan had weak mobile signals and a dying battery. She could not access emergency alerts.
The fire destroyed 66 homes nearby in Harcourt. Recent changes to infrastructure have left regional communities depending on networks that break easily.
The launch of the NBN, the end of copper landlines, and the 3G shutdown all weakened emergency communication. A royal commission after 2019's Black Summer fires warned of these exact weaknesses.
Yet little has changed since then.
- around 7,000
- Town population
- 66
- Homes destroyed in Harcourt
- 31 degrees
- Temperature that morning
- January 9, 2026
- Fire timeline
Why it mattersWhen warnings fail, people make deadly decisions in blind panic. The same communication gaps exposed four years ago remain unfixed.
AustraliaRegional Australians face growing fire and flood risks with communication infrastructure that collapses exactly when they need it most.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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