Around 60 bushfires are still burning across Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) as of Wednesday, leaving one person dead and hundreds of homes destroyed.

It's reported that the fires have burnt over 40,000 hectares since they broke out on Oct. 17.

Thousands of firefighters are battling against the fires, with Wednesday being the most severe day. The forecast bureau predicted that the temperature has hit 30s and the wind speed is 100km per hour in the state.

Three teens have been charged with starting fires near Newcastle and Hunter Valley, according to the local police. The investgation is still underway.

Emergency experts say a learned helplessness has left Australians in major cities unprepared to cope in natural disasters, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Experts said people's reliance on emergency services and recovery support such as cash handouts needs to be urgently reviewed if Australia is to better survive from the disasters.

Lewis Winter, emergency expert from Charles Sturt University, said people should be prepared to look after themselves for at least three days for a situation where emergency services are unable to help them.

However, most people have no plans in place, according to Winter.

A catastrophic fire in bush areas could cause water and power shortage, transport failures and traffic chaos, but Winter said cities are very vulnerable to these failures.

Jim McGowan, former deputy chairman of the Queensland state disaster management group, said that despite three days' warning, Brisbane residents still failed to take appropriate actions during floods in 2011.

McGowan said when floods were coming, people went to buy frozen goods, but such goods are the first things that people should throw out, because the local people have no idea that they would live without electricity or gas when a disaster happens.

McGowan also warned that the government's emphasis on cash handouts after disasters would increase the learned helplessness to some extent.

Meanwhile, Australian Productivity Commission has found that damaged infrastructure is mostly rebuilt as it was. Governments failed to invest in adaptation to the disaster effects.

Bushfires in Australia are frequently occurring disasters during the summer time due to Australia's hot and dry climate. Large areas of bush land are battered every year by bushfires, which also cause loss of lives and properties.

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