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| FLYER ISSUE 9: SEPTEMBER
2023 | |
NEXT FMA MEETINGS: 8 NOVEMBER AT BRISBANE (QLD CHAPTER) AND 16 NOVEMBER AT SYDNEY (NSW/ACT CHAPTER)
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Recently I attended a workshop hosted by Natural Hazards Research Australia which discussed a range of issues including how we can help vulnerable communities at risk from increasing natural hazard risks through assisted relocations. Professor Gavin Smith from North Carolina State University provided a keynote which highlighted experience in North Carolina with assisted relocations. Property buy-backs in North
Carolina and across the USA continue to be successful where real estate values make it possible. Professor Smith advised that real estate values for vulnerable properties in North Carolina were around $30,000 each which allows the process to be achievable. In Australia, voluntary purchase is not without its problems including community acceptance and the problem of higher real estate valuations in some areas up to and sometimes beyond $1million each. It is pleasing that the government has announced $800million for voluntary purchase in the Northern Rivers area of NSW but it will be a challenge to address every property which is
currently at risk for that amount of money. With insurance premiums rising in flood prone areas by up to 50%, the new Northern Rivers
Reconstruction Corporation will have the unenviable job of managing the program before property values and insurance premiums continue to climb. Meanwhile a successful program of voluntary purchase is well underway in QLD and QRA continues to provide an example of how voluntary purchase can reduce risk in vulnerable areas.
ID
Ian Dinham | FMA President
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INSURANCE CATASTROPHE REPORT RELEASED
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The Insurance Council of Australia has released the Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report 2022-23. Publication of the report was foreshadowed by the ICA’s Liam Walter at the August FMA Quarterly Meetings in
Brisbane and Sydney. The report focuses on floods, “Australia’s most destructive and widespread natural hazard”, and discusses the insurance losses of the four Catastrophe and Severe Events in 2022-23: CAT 223 - Victorian, NSW and Tasmanian Floods $736 million SE 224 - Central West NSW Floods $237 million SE 231 - Newcastle Hailstorm $238 million SE 225 - River Murray Floods $393 million. Insurance Council CEO Andrew Hall said: “The financial impact of insurance catastrophes over the past 12 months was around one fifth of the cost of the previous record-breaking year, but more
benign weather conditions should not provide false hope that the issues of worsening extreme weather risk have gone away. “This new data
shows that when – not if – extreme weather events strike large population centres in the future we can expect them to have a greater impact and be more costly, making the case for risk mitigation even more pressing”. Policy responses suggested by the ICA to improve resilience to future disasters, and moderate pressure on rising insurance premiums, are: - Increase investment in resilience and mitigation funding, as part of a 10 year rolling program with indexed funding to reduce risk
- Prevent development of homes in high-risk locations and undertake home buy-backs where there is no viable way to protect against the risk
- Improve building codes and support household level resilience programs such as house raising and retrofitting to make buildings more resilient
- Reform unfair state taxes and levies on insurance products that increase the cost of insurance premiums.
The Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report 2022-23 is available at: insurancecouncil.com.au
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EL NIÑO AND POSITIVE INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE UNDERWAY
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After months of speculation the Bureau of Meteorology has now declared that oceanic indicators exhibit an El Niño state. Central and eastern Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures continue to exceed El Niño thresholds, and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole is underway. The Bureau’s latest Climate Driver Update advised that climate models indicate this El Niño is likely to persist until at least the end of February. El Niño
typically leads to reduced spring rainfall for eastern Australia. Read more at: Climate Driver Update
The long-range forecast for Australia indicates warmer and drier than average conditions are likely across most of southern and eastern Australia from October to December. But it’s not a time for complacency, history tells us that every year, irrespective of climate model indicators, major flooding occurs somewhere in Australia.
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SPECIAL CLIMATE STATEMENT DETAILS PERSISTENT HEAVY RAIN AND FLOODING OF SPRING 2022
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The Bureau of Meteorology has released a formal record of the persistent heavy rain and flooding which occurred in eastern Australia during spring 2022. Special Climate Statement 77 provides details on the rainfall and catchment conditions around spring 2022, and includes comparisons with previous rainfall records and flood events. The statement found many sites across south-eastern Australia had their highest total spring rainfall on record, including more than 200 sites with at least 100 years of observations. Persistent heavy rain during spring 2022 led to extensive riverine flooding in the Murray-Darling Basin in New South Wales and Victoria, and floodwaters moved into South Australia.
Significant flooding also affected parts of southern Victoria, southern Queensland and northern Tasmania. While the 2010-11 flooding was more
widespread nationally, flooding in the second half of 2022 was more prolonged in the southern Murray-Darling Basin. A greater number of river gauges in the southern Murray-Darling Basin stayed above flood levels for a record number of days in 2022. Special Climate Statement 77 can be found at the Bureau's website: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/statements
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FMA 2024 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
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Planning for next year’s FMA National Conference is in full swing and the Call for Abstracts will open in late October. Details are close to being finalised, but you can start planning your presentation now! The content can be technical or non-technical to suit our varied audience, so you don’t need to be a “flood expert” to provide a presentation. The practical experiences of Councillors, flood committee members and community representatives can be of real value to fellow conference attendees. The 2024 Floodplain Management Australia National Conference will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Queensland, from Wednesday 22 to
Friday 24 May, with optional pre-conference workshops on Tuesday 21 May. Keep up to date at: floodplainconference.com
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FMA ACTIVITIES SPONSOR - CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
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FMA and the FMA Young Floodplain Managers (YFM) regularly host various professional development and networking events including Quarterly Meetings, workshops, social events, tours and webinars. Activities presently being planned include YFM End of Year Events at various
locations in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. FMA is now seeking sponsors and partners to join us in delivering any or all of these
activities. If you are interested in discussing opportunities to work with FMA to improve the knowledge and skills of floodplain management
practitioners, and raise the profile of your organisation, please contact Executive Officer Glenn Evans: eo@floods.asn.au
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NSW FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT MANUAL WORKSHOP AT HWRS 2023
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For those wishing to learn more about the new NSW Flood Risk Management Manual a workshop will be held following the Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium (HWRS 2023) in Sydney on 16 November. The workshop will outline some of the changes in flood risk management practice within the toolkit, and take a more detailed look at key technical aspects of a range of guidelines and tools that support the 2023 Flood Risk Management Manual. It will be presented by flood specialists of the Environment and Heritage Group of the Department of Planning and Environment. HWRS runs from 13 to 15 November, this year’s theme is “Living with extremes”. Register at: HWRS 2023
website.
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MONTHLY YFM FEATURE
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Our Young Floodplain Managers network has continued to grow during the year, however we are always on the lookout for more members and committee representatives. YFM membership is guided towards those up-and-coming in the flood risk industry, catering for those with less than 15 years’ experience.
However, everyone is welcome to join and attend YFM events. One of the goals for this year is to seek more public sector representation to join the YFM and the various YFM committees around the country, so if you or any of your staff meet the requirements we would love for you to join.
Please feel free to email us at yfm@floods.asn.au for further information. If you are interested in joining the network of YFMs, we would love to have you. For more information on joining, visit floods.asn.au/yfm
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POSITIONS VACANT
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City of Moreton Bay Principal Engineer Floodplain Management Canterbury-Bankstown Council
Catchment Management Planner
If you are interested in promoting a vacant position with us, please contact us.
Please remember that while we circulate Vacant Positions in this monthly Flyer, sometimes position closing deadlines don't align with the time of its distribution. Make sure you head to floods.asn.au/jobs to check for Vacant Positions that may not be listed here due to shorter closing dates.
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TRAVELLING CAPS AND BEANIES
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What would you prefer to see for the 2024 FMA Conference at Brisbane? A) Cap B) Beanie C) Bucket
Hat
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