How many once-in-100-years disasters can a 22-year-old have lived through?

Every summer, friends who live in fire-risk areas tell me of their preparations – wetting towels, filling gutters. These are the mundane rituals that more Australians are getting used to. Rituals that sit strangely next to the horrifying spectacle of a 40-metre wall of fire that threatens homes and lives. We shouldn’t have to become accustomed to these tasks. We still have a choice.