NEXT FMA MEETING FMA May QM and AGM Thursday, 21 May 2015 at the FMA National Conference, Brisbane. |
Excellence Awards Entries Close 7 April |
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Entries for this year’s FMA Excellence Awards close next week!
You can enter the FMA-NRMA Insurance Flood Risk Management Project of the Year Award or the brand new Allan Ezzy Flood Risk Manager of the Year Award – or both if you’re keen!
The Flood Risk Management Project of the Year acknowledges the work of
an FMA organisation or partnership toward the reduction of flood impacts, the management of flood incidents or the restoration of communities across Australia after a flood event.
The Flood Risk Manager of the Year was established to honour the outstanding contribution of an individual who demonstrates the highest level of achievement in areas of flood risk management.
The Awards will be presented at the Conference Dinner for the
2nd FMA National Conference on 21 May, 2015 in Brisbane, Queensland.
Entries close Tuesday 7 April 2015.
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Australia-Netherlands Water Challenge |
The FMA National Conference in Brisbane this year will play host to the Australia-Netherlands Water Challenge.
The Water Challenge invites graduate students and young professionals to investigate key water problems in Australia and/or the Netherlands and to cooperate with professional experts to develop their own ideas and solutions.
An independent team of experts from
Australia and the Netherlands will be judging the presentations at the Conference and select two winning teams for a three-week traineeship in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Consul General Drs. W.N. Cosijn actively supports the Water Challenge program and will attend the Conference and awards presentation on 21 May.
The Consul General’s office has launched the Holland Hub website containing information on Dutch companies and products
available within Australia, such as the BoxBarrier temporary flood barrier.
The BoxBarrier is distributed in Australia by FMA Member Bluemont and will be on display at the Conference.
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Are You Presenting at our National Conference? |
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Pictured: FMA Chairman Ian Dinham awarding Hamid Mirfenderesk (Gold Coast City Council) the 2014 Harold Sternbeck Medal at the FMA Conference in Deniliquin.
For those presenting at this year’s Conference, your papers should have been submitted, and you may be working on your presentation for the big day. We’d like to remind you of the
opportunity to win the coveted Harold Sternbeck Medal, which is awarded to the most outstanding presenter at the FMA Conference.
Harold Sternbeck AM was an exceptional FMA advocate for over 30 years, including eight years as Chairman. In recognition of his extensive service to the FMA and his prowess as a persuasive public speaker,the Harold Sternbeck Medal was established in 2000. The Medal is not awarded lightly, and in some cases, no winner has been
announced that year.
Past winners of the Medal and their presentations include: |
Welcome to the Membership XP Solutions! |
XP Solutions brings nearly 40 years of experience in developing and supporting professional software systems devoted to improving the use and understanding of water resources, and has expanded its expertise to include a broader scope of designed infrastructure.
XP Solutions works with regulatory authorities and consultants from small scale to large multi-national organisations around the
world providing technical support and education in stormwater and flood modelling and management.
XP Solutions will have a trade display at the 2015 FMA National Conference in Brisbane – so make sure you check it out. You can find out more about them at www.xpsolutions.com. |
FMA National Conference Update - Keynote Speakers |
Seeing as our National Conference is only 49 sleeps away, we'd like to tell you a little bit about our two exceptional keynote speakers.
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Mr John CurtinDirector of Incident Management and Resilience, UK Environment Agency
John Curtin has been Director of Incident Management and Resilience at the Environment Agency since 2012 where he is responsible for developing the organisation's ability to respond to floods and environmental incidents.
John is a Hydrologist by training and began his career working on
Water Resource planning and flood forecast modelling.
During major incidents John's role is to support national coordination of response through the UK Government central unit commonly known as COBRA. This was the role John played through Winter 13/14 as the UK faced widespread flooding caused by the largest coastal surge in a generation and the wettest winter in 250 years.
Professor Bas Jonkman
Chair of Integral Hydraulic Engineering, Delft Technical University, The Netherlands
Dr. S.N. (Bas) Jonkman holds the Chair of Integral Hydraulic Engineering and is the head of the hydraulic structures and flood risk section within the faculty of Civil Engineering at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands.
His research
group focuses on hydraulic engineering systems, such as flood defenses, storm surge barriers, tunnels and locks; they also develop methods for probabilistic design and flood risk management and approaches to incorporate eco-design, asset management and life cycle aspects in hydraulic engineering.
He has been involved in major flood policy developments in the Netherlands and in flood mitigation in many countries, including in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Romania and
Qatar.
NSW Flood Program Applications Close 9 April |
The next funding round for the NSW Floodplain Management Program and the Floodplain Risk Management Grants Scheme (jointly funded by Ministry of Police and Emergency Services and the Commonwealth Government) opened on 25 February. The programs assist local councils and other authorities to undertake priority projects to assess the risks and reduce the impacts of flooding in NSW.
The 2014 funding round was announced in December and provided $16.3 million for 51 projects.
Applications close on 9 April.
Details are at the OEH website |
NSW SES Interactive Flood and Tsunami Maps |
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The NSW SES has recently developed very impressive online interactive maps in conjunction with the 2015 flood and tsunami state plan reviews to help communicate hazard risk NSW.
‘Flooding in NSW’ overviews the weather systems responsible for major historical flooding in the state and can be accessed at
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Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Adopted |
The United Nations World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction in Japan this month adopted a new global Framework for managing disaster risk, replacing the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction calls for actions to not only protect populations and promote quick recovery, but also to prevent new risks, such as those caused by ill-planned urban
growth in areas subject to flooding, landslides and effects of climate change.
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Business Roundtable Honoured in Sendai UN
Conference |
The Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities was awarded the certificate of distinction in the prestigious 2015 United Nations Sasakawa Awards for Risk Reduction this month in Japan.
The Sasakawa Award this year focuses on remarkable and innovative efforts to reduce the impact of disasters and build resilience. The
Award is presented to an individual or institution that has actively sought to reduce disaster risk in their communities and advocate for disaster risk reduction.
The Australian Business Roundtable is made up of CEOs from the Australian Red Cross, Insurance Australia Group, Investa Property Group, Munich Re, Optus and Westpac.
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ARR Peak Discharge Estimation Released for Industry Comment |
The team at ARR has released the first complete book draft of the 4th edition of Australian Rainfall and Runoff for industry comment. Book 3 covers both regional and at site flood frequency estimation techniques.
The at site flood frequency chapter is a significant change from the version previously available and supersedes
this version.
The report will be available for industry comment until the end of April. Software for the regional flood frequency estimation method is in the final stages of testing and will be released soon.
Accompanying the release of the book is the Stage 3 Report, Data Report and a short background video on the development and implementation of the method.
Stage 3 Report at
Data Report at
A workshop on the new Australian Rainfall and Runoff is offered at the FMA National Conference. |
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POSITIONS VACANT
As a service to our Members we welcome information on career opportunities in the area of floodplain management.
No Current Vacancies
If you are interested in promoting a vacant position with us,
contact us. FMA CAPS AROUND THE WORLD
Has your FMA Conference Cap been on holidays? Send us
photos of your FMA Cap travelling around the world!
FMA Chairman Ian Dinham at the Cricket World Cup in March. Thanks for
reading, and see you next month! |
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