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LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS AUSTRALIA PART 1: FLOODS. Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA . AUSTRALIA. NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN AUSTRALIA. FLOODS. GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAY. CYCLONES. EARTHQUAKES.
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LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERSAUSTRALIAPART 1: FLOODS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA
NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN AUSTRALIA FLOODS GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAY CYCLONES EARTHQUAKES HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY WILDFIRES ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters Planet Earth’s atmospheric-hydrospheric-lithospheric interactions create situations favorable for FLOODS
A DISASTER is --- --- the set of failures that overwhelm the capability of a community torespond without external help when three continuums: 1) people, 2) community (i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and social constructs), and 3) complex events (e.g., floods, wildfires, ...,) intersect at a point in space and time.
Disasters are caused by single- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), cause extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness, joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts.
FLOOD HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) • TOO MUCH WATER DISCHARGED WITHIN THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM TO BE ACCOMMODATED NORMALLY IN THE REGIONAL WATER CYCLE • EROSION • SCOUR • MUDFLOWS
CAUSES OF RISK LOSS OF FUNCTION OF STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN INUNDATION INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS STRUCTURAL/CONTENTS DAMAGE FROM WATER FLOODS WATER BORNE DISEASES (HEALTH PROBLEMS) CASE HISTORIES EROSION AND MUDFLOWS CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER
HAZARDS • INVENTORY AT RISK • VULNERABILITY • LOCATION • PREPAREDNESS • PROTECTION • EARLY WARNING • EMERGENCY RESPONSE • RECOVERY and • RECONSTRUCTION FLOOD RISK POLICY OPTIONS ACCEPTABLE RISK RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE DATA BASES AND INFORMATION AUSTRALIA’S COMMUNITIES HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS
HIGH POTENTIAL LOSS EXPOSURES IN FLOODS Entire communities; People, property, infra-structure, business enterprise, government centers, crops, wildlife, and natural resources.
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL FLOODS PREPAREDNESFOR THE EXPECTED AND UNEXPEDTED IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL FLOODS TIMELY EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE
AUSTRALIA’S WORST FLOODS Look at what happened in 2010-2011?
RECORD FLOODING IN AUSTRALIA:NEW SOUTH WALESROCKHAMPTONTOOWOOMBABRISBANE DECEMBER 10 – JANUARY 16, 2011
IMPACTS: GREAT QUEENSLAND FLOODING INUNDATED 22 TOWNS, DISPLACED 200,000, KILLED 35, AND CAUSED LOSSES OF OVER $5 BILLION
THE SECOND PHASE OF FLOODING HAPPENED IN JANUARY AN AREA OF FLOODING THE SIZE OF FRANCE AND GERMANY (OR, TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO) COMBINED WAS CREATED IN QUEENSLAND
ROCKHAMPTON HIT HARD • Rockhampton, a town of 77,000 people 370 miles north of Brisbane, lies close to the coast, on the Fitzroy, one of Australia's largest river systems.
ROCKHAMPTON ISOLATED • All main routes to the south, north and west of the city were cut off by the rising water, rail lines and the airport runways were submerged, and floodwaters stretched for several miles in each direction.
QUEENSLAND: WIDESPREAD IMPACTS • Socioeconomic impacts for about 200 thousand people included: industrial slow-down, evacuations, a plague of snakes and crocodiles, and health care problems associated with evacuation and water-borne diseases.
W ILDLIFE AFFECTED • The local wildlife was caught off-guard by the flooding; bewildered and hungry kangaroos moved to high ground, and cattle were left lost and confused by the excessive water that inundated everything.
COAL MINING INFRASTRUCTURE AFFECTED • Australia's coal industry faced months of disruption as the result of key rail and road links being washed away during the flooding, and repairs of some infra-structure expected to take a year or more.
THE THIRD PHASE OF FLOODING BEGAN WITH A FLASH FLOOD JANUARY 11, 2011
FLASH FLOOD IN TOOWOOMBA • The flash flood, which brought a one kilometer wide wall of water into Toowoomba, was triggered by a freak storm — with up to 150 millimeters (6 inches) of rain in half an hour.
IMPACTS • Cars were transformed into “boats” and then scrap metal as they floated away; giant metal industrial bins were tossed about as if made of paper; and houses were torn off their foundations.
THE FOURTH PHASE OF FLOODING BEGAN IN BRISBANE JANUARY 11 AND FOLLOWING
BRISBANE • The city is protected by a large dam built upstream after floods devastated the downtown in 1974, but the reservoir was full, so officials had no choice but to release water, which caused flooding before the “FLOOD”.
BRISBANE • MORE than 50 suburbs were flooded as the Brisbane River rose to 4.5 m or more above flood stage, with some areas being completely inundated.
