Introduction

As global warming accelerates, climate events such as extreme fires and floods are escalating in their unpredictability, intensity and frequency, taking lives, destroying communities and wreaking havoc on habitats. The scope, scale and uncertainty of these extreme events, and their impacts on human populations, are demolishing commonly held beliefs about safety, cultural norms and emergency protocols. Preparing for these threats at the community level, not simply mitigating and managing their impact, is an increasingly existential task. Without the ability to experientially preview and address these unforeseen vulnerabilities in situ, it is extremely challenging for researchers, frontline personnel and local communities to understand their likelihood, let alone engage with practices that minimise the devastation they entail to build the imaginative readiness required.