|
|
NEXT FMA MEETING NSW/ACT Chapter Meeting and Workshop, Thursday 17 August in Sydney
and
Queensland Chapter Meeting and Workshop, Wednesday 15 November in Brisbane.
FMA President Meets with Federal Minister Keenan |
|
Pictured (from left): Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan and FMA President Ian Dinham in Canberra.
FMA President Ian Dinham has met with Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan in Canberra to discuss flood mitigation and disaster recovery funding.
Minister Keenan’s portfolio includes funding and support for natural disaster risk management programs.
Mr Dinham said the discussion focussed on recommendations of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into natural disaster funding particularly investment in pre-flood mitigation. FMA strongly supports the recommendation to increase the proportion of investment pre-disaster mitigation and preparation.
Mr Dinham said they discussed the
benefits of well-planned mitigation works, and the Minister is keen to receive further information on projects which clearly demonstrate a reduction in disaster costs resulting from investing in mitigation. |
Tasmanian Flood Reports Released |
The Tasmanian Government has released the Report of the Independent Review into the Tasmanian Floods. Former Auditor-General Mike Blake was commissioned to prepare the report following the floods of June and July 2016.
The Tasmanian floods and performance of the Launceston Flood Levee were discussed at the recent FMA National Conference in
Newcastle.
Premier Will Hodgman said “Overall, Mr Blake has found that the response of all levels of government, emergency services and the community to the floods was generally robust; however, with the benefit of hindsight it is clear that the overall response could be improved for future events in some areas.”
Key findings and conclusions included: - Hydro cloud seeding had “no impact on
precipitation”
- The State Government should undertake a comprehensive assessment of flood mapping in Tasmania;
- The SES align their community education programs, sharing resources with the Tasmanian Fire Service;
- The Government should establish a central Flood Policy Unit;
- The Department of Premier and Cabinet should become the
standing Recovery Management Authority;
- While it "may be” that State and Local Government under-invests in flood mitigation, a lot more work is required to understand whether measures such as additional flood levees are appropriate;
- The response to the Huonville Floods in July was an example of “effective planning, preparation and collaboration that other flood management authorities should learn
from.”
The Government is yet to officially respond to the report.
|
Interested in Geomorphology and Paleoflood
Data? |
|
2017 Conference attendees will recall the fascinating Keynote Presentation by Associate Professor Jacky Croke entitled What did we learn from the Lockyer Valley 2011 Flood? Lessons and Opportunities from the Big flood Project.
The topic and the science involved in the Big Flood Project generated a lot of interest, and as a result
Associate Professor Croke and FMA are considering offering a Geomorphology Short Course.
This is your chance to learn more about the role of geomorphology in flood risk management. To enable us to gauge interest, and understand the aspects of geomorphology which are of most relevance, please complete our brief survey at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/W5W3VZ5 |
|
Brisbane City Council FloodWise Property Reports Updated |
Following the recent completion of the Brisbane River Catchment Flood Study Brisbane City Council has updated its FloodWise Property Reports (FWPRs) and Flood Awareness Map (FAM) to incorporate the new information.
The FWPRs show the new 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) levels. The FAM shows where a flood has a 5%, 1%, 0.2%, and 0.05% chance of occurring in any year, as
well as the source of flooding and the extent of the 1974 and 2011 floods.
|
FMA President Speaks to PIA
Seminar
|
|
The Northern NSW Branch of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) recently held a Planning to be Resilient Seminar at Bingara. The session covered a range of topics related to natural disaster resilience, including Flood Planning where FMA President Ian Dinham discussed Rethinking Floodplain Planning using a Flood Risk Management
Approach.
|
Pictured: FMA President Ian Dinham at PIA Seminar in Bingara.
Mr Dinham said the Flood Risk Management (FRM) process is an
excellent method in theory but it takes years to complete, let alone implement. “Planners have many factors to consider in any planning proposal or development application, and flooding is just one of the many” Mr Dinham said.
“The timing of the FRM process may delay planning proposals, reviews and determinations, however, FRM is extremely important as we’ve seen this year with the Brisbane River Flood Study and
the Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Study Review.”
The presentation summarised how to incorporate FRM into the NSW Local Government planning process, and discussed areas for improvement, which have been highlighted in FMA’s submissions to the Department of Planning and Environment.
|
|
FMA would like to take the opportunity to welcome a number of new Members into the Membership:
NSW SES (Corporate) The New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSW SES) is the legislated combat agency for floods, storms and tsunami in NSW. This role includes planning for, responding to and coordinating
the initial recovery from floods.
The NSW SES has a strategic interest in the public safety aspects of the development of flood prone land, in particular the changes to land use to either exacerbate existing flood risk or create new flood risk for communities in NSW.
NSW SES are committed to helping reduce the risk and impact of flooding on life and property and more broadly in playing an important role in building disaster resilient
communities.
Rhelm Pty Ltd (Corporate) Rhelm specialises in providing a range of floodplain risk management services across a range of clients.
Rhelm undertakes hydrological and hydraulic assessments for input to flood
studies and floodplain risk management studies for local councils across NSW. They utilise modelling capabilities to provide flood impact assessments for potential development scenarios, stream management and other works within floodplains.
Rhelm also provides policy and planning advice to local and state government organisations, including expert witness services.
New Professional Members We also have some new Professional and Student Members who have come on board. As is custom, we do not circulate details of our Professional, Individual and Student Members, but we hope to introduce them at our upcoming
Meetings. |
Conference Conversations with Gerry Gannon |
|
Gerry Gannon (MC of the recent FMA Newcastle Conference) interviews interesting speakers he’s met with at Conferences all over Australia for his podcast ‘Conference Conversations with Gerry Gannon’.
During the 2017 FMA Conference, Gerry took some time to speak to FMA President Ian Dinham regarding flood risk management in Australia.
|
Conference Feedback - Thank You |
|
Thank you to those who submitted feedback regarding the recent FMA Conference in Newcastle via the online survey provided.
Your comments enable FMA to shape future Conferences in a way that better reflects delegates’ interests and to help these events run more smoothly.
As these responses are taken on board, FMA’s upcoming Gold Coast 2018
Conference is sure to be even better than our last. Save the date now:
2018 FMA National Conference Gold Coast, Queensland 29th May – 1st June 2018 |
Risk Frontiers Briefing Note Released: Anniversary of the Great Hawkesbury Flood |
|
FMA Member Risk Frontiers has released its latest Briefing Note, this one concerning the anniversary of the Great Hawkesbury Flood from 150 years ago.
The Briefing Note reflects on the history of flooding in the area, and future flood risks of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment.
This week sees a
significant but little-heralded anniversary in New South Wales: 150 years ago, on the 23rd of June, a devastating flood peaked at Windsor on the Hawkesbury River. For height reached and area inundated, that event has not been matched on the river since. Indeed no other flood since European settlement has come within 4 metres of that one at the Windsor gauge. The 1867 flood reached 19.7 metres: by comparison, the 1961 flood (the highest in living memory today) peaked at only 15.1
metres...
|
Water Technology Autumn Waterlines Newsletter Out Now |
|
FMA Member Water Technology has released its latest ‘Waterlines’ newsletter. As many FMA Members will recognise, Water Technology was nominated in both categories for the 2017 FMA Excellence Awards at our recent Conference in Newcastle for their exceptional work.
This Autumn edition includes articles on:
- Integrated Stormwater
Management
- Passionate landowners restore a natural floodplain ecosystem
- Expanded data collection capabilities
- HydroNET’s international Award recognition
- Floodplain Management Australia Excellence Award Finalists.
|
Risk Frontiers Becomes an Independent R&D Company |
|
FMA Member Risk Frontiers, Australia’s longest running natural hazards research centre, is spinning out from Macquarie University after a successful partnership of 23 years.
The ‘new’ Risk Frontiers will continue to provide the rigorous, science-based advice that clients have come to expect. Strong relationships forged with key academics at Macquarie University will be
maintained with the creation of a Risk Frontiers Research Fellowship Fund for joint collaborative research in natural hazards, as well as new endeavours in cyber security.
|
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. |
GRADUATES SEEKING EMPLOYMENT FMA is occasionally contacted by young professionals in fields related to flood risk management seeking introductions to potential employers.
If your business is seeking a new employee please contact us, we may know of someone suitable.
FMA CAPS AROUND THE WORLD Where has your FMA Conference Cap been? FMA EXECUTIVE VACATION
EDITION
|
|
Pictured: FMA Deputy President Larry Bolitho, a local FMA Ambassador, and wife Glenda in France, and Land Use Planning Director Paul Grech in Granada, Spain.
Paul said of his photograph:
"I am sitting over the River del Darro in Granada, Spain, which was left open by the Romans and the Moors but the Catholics decided they needed to build over it to form a decent size plaza for religious festivities, trials for the Inquisition and of course bull fights in due course. It has run under the city for many
centuries now but doesn't seem to be a problem!'
Have you got a photo of your travelling FMA Cap? Where in the world have you been? Send us your photos! |
Thanks for reading, and see you next month! P.S. HAVE YOU SAVED THE DATE FOR OUR 2018 CONFERENCE YET?
GO ON...YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!
If you found this Flyer interesting please forward it to a colleague, and suggest they sign up at floods.org.au to receive it directly in future. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
