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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT |
This year has been yet another “wake up call” for flooding in Australia and the rest of the world.
But how quickly we
forget as the news media moves on to other “quick grabs” about politics, murders, Hollywood scandals and anything to entertain the TV audience.
Let’s remember a couple of the really major events in
2017:
- Earlier this year, Hurricane Harvey was thought to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history with a potential price tag of $190 billion. This is equal to the combined cost of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and represents a 1% economic hit to the gross national
product.
- Parts of Houston, the United States' fourth largest city, will be uninhabitable for many weeks and months due to the damage, mould, and disease-ridden water following this 1 in a 1,000-year flood.
- Here in Australia, the first quarter of the year brought us Tropical Cyclone Debbie and that wasn’t the only event.
- Across the 2017 disaster season,
62 QLD councils were activated for NDRRA assistance from seven events:
- Far North Queensland Trough, 21‐28 March 2017
- Far North Queensland Trough, 3‐10 February 2017
- Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie and associated rainfall and flooding, 28 March ‐ 6 April
2017
- Gulf Tropical Low, 15‐24 February 2017
- Far North Queensland Low, 8‐11 January 2017
- Western Queensland Flooding, 13‐20 September 2016
- Central Queensland Severe Weather, 15‐20 July 2016
- TC Debbie didn’t confine itself to Queensland as the aftermath brought severe rain to the Northern Rivers area of
NSW.
- The Tweed River reached the 1% AEP Flood level in Murwillumbah and Tumbulgum.
- The 1
in 10 year flood levee in Lismore overtopped when a 1 in 40 year AEP flood event occurred.
- Western Australia experienced flooding in the North West Kimberley/Pilbara and the South Coast with record levels in some areas.
- In the Northern Rivers area alone, insurance claims currently exceed $400m which again highlights the need for continued mitigation work and wise land use planning.
Every year we see the same story played out somewhere and whilst the TV media may forget, those of you involved in any way with flood related decisions across this nation should be proud of the work you do. May I especially thank you all for your input and involvement with FMA throughout the year and I look forward to seeing you again at our meetings, workshops and our FMA National Conference in 2018. As we take a holiday at the end of this year, just spare a thought for those events of 2017 and remember that Cyclone Tracy arrived on Christmas Eve killing 65 people and causing $6.4 billion damages. Our work
is never done. ID
Ian Dinham | FMA President
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FMA AT SENATE CLIMATE CHANGE INQUIRY |
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FMA Land Use Planning Director Paul Grech and Queensland Director Dwayne Honor have provided evidence to the Senate Inquiry into the current and future impacts of climate change on housing, buildings and infrastructure, at the public hearing in Sydney on 23 November.
The Inquiry is being conducted by the Senate’s Environment and Communications References Committee.
FMA’s submission to the Inquiry
was prepared by Mr Grech in August, and is available at the Submissions page of the FMA website.
Issues discussed at the hearing included the prevalence of adaptation
measures, barriers to implementation, and benefits of pre-disaster mitigation.
The Committee has asked to be advised of examples of mitigation measures which could be visited and looked at in detail as case studies.
If your organisation has developed an innovative response to the impacts of climate change please advise Paul Grech at: paul@glnplanning.com.au |
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NEW REPORT INTO THE COSTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS |
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The Australian Business Roundtable (ABR) for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities has released its fifth research report, ‘Building resilience to natural disasters in our states and territories’. The report, prepared by Deloitte Access Economics, focusses on the current and
anticipated costs of natural disasters by state and territory to 2050, and examines the importance of building resilience.
The report states that the total economic cost of natural disasters in Australia over the 10 years to 2016 averaged $18.2 billion per year, and this is forecast to more than double to $39 billion per year by 2050. It provides examples of cost effective resilience investment, and points out that building resilience not only reduces future natural disaster costs, it also provides more reliable services, better business confidence and new job opportunities.
FMA was represented at the NSW launch of the report in Sydney on 21 November by Executive Officer Glenn Evans who said it was
pleasing to see senior representatives from a wide range of agency and non-government organisations in attendance, including the NSW Minister for Emergency Services, the Hon Troy Grant who introduced the event.
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CONFERENCE REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN |
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Registration for the upcoming FMA National Conference at Gold Coast is now open.
The theme of the Conference is ‘Waterways of Success’ Developing flood resilience in our communities”, and will run from 29
May - 1 June 2018.
Why You Should Attend:
Be Inspired: Hear motivating talks from exceptional keynote speakers
Be Connected: Develop links with over 350 leaders, specialists and
industry peers in floodplain risk management
Be Smarter: Learn new skills and strategies from concurrent sessions and hands-on pre-conference workshops
Be Innovative: Be exposed to emerging and state-of-the-art products on display throughout the trade
exhibition
Be National: Take on a nation-wide perspective by learning from other States and Territories
Be Social: Make meaningful connections with like-minded industry professionals at networking functions.
*Early bird discounts of up to $200* are available if you register by 23 March 2018.
For full details, visit floodplainconference.com. |
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QUEENSLAND CHAPTER MEETING ROUNDUP |
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The Queensland Chapter Meeting in Brisbane was well attended this month with updates being provided by the FMA Executive, the National Flood Risk Advisory Group, Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the Bureau of Meteorology.
Presentations were also made by the Flood Community of
Practice and Suncorp Insurance regarding their Water Futures initiative, the Insurance Council of Australia on its response process to natural disaster events and an introduction by new FMA Corporate Member Burchill’s Engineering Solutions discussing its current projects and capabilities.
Dr Jacky Croke, Director Catchment Connections, Centre for Catchment and Flood Management,
provided a brief overview of Geomorphology and Palaeoflood Hydrology in Australia, and sought feedback from Members about the value of providing a short course on the topic at the 2018 FMA Conference at Gold Coast.
During the afternoon workshop, Julie Molloy and John Arrowsmith from the Office of the Inspector-General Emergency Management discussed the recently
released report into the effectiveness of the disaster management system during Tropical Cyclone Debbie: The Cyclone Debbie Review – Lessons for delivering value and confidence through trust and empowerment.
Representatives from Suncorp Insurance, including Josh Cooney, Senior Manager Government, Industry & Public Policy, Bruce Visser, Claims
Specialist and Jordan Peddar, Natural Perils Pricing Team, provided a variety of insights to the Meeting covering claims experiences, typical claims processes and the behaviour of Tropical Cyclone Debbie in correlation with flood models and maps.
The next FMA Meetings will be held 14 February (Brisbane) and 22 February
(Sydney). |
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NSW/ACT CHAPTER MEETING ROUNDUP |
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Pictured (from left): Ian Dinham (FMA President) being presented with a Water Futures publication by Rolf Karst (Office of the Consulate-General of the Netherlands) in Sydney.
Back at the usual venue of the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), the NSW/ACT
Chapter Meeting saw over 50 flood risk professionals join to discuss FRM in the state, the future direction of FMA and current land use planning issues.
The meeting included informative updates and presentations provided by FMA Executive, the Office of the Consulate-General of the Netherlands, the NSW OEH, NSW SES, BoM, ACT Conference hosts, South Australian Member Chris Wright, and the Insurance
Council of Australia (ICA).
Dr Phillip Conway, Senior Analyst Natural Perils, Insurance Australia Group, gave an exciting announcement regarding changes made to the 2018 FMA-NRMA Insurance Flood Risk Management Project of the Year Award, stating that [NRMA Insurance] “finds the relationship with FMA very beneficial and looks forward to the strong entries” next year. (More on
the announcement later in the Flyer.)
Karl Sullivan, General Manager Risk - ICA, discussed with Members the precise actions ICA takes during a declared catastrophe event including industry hotlines, community forums, comprehensive claims processes and media and government liaison. Mr Sullivan also stated that the cost of Tropical Cyclone Debbie has reached the
$1.62b mark, making it the second most expensive cyclone in Australia’s history after Tropical Cyclone Yasi, with over 74,000 claims being made.
The afternoon workshop considered land use planning questions posed to a panel of planning and legal experts, which consisted of Paul Grech, FMA Land Use Planning Director, Shannon McGuire, Associate Director Urban Ethos and
John Cole, partner with Abbott Tout. |
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2018 EA AWARDS - PRIZE MONEY BOOST |
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Have you started thinking about your entry to the 2018 FMA Excellence Awards yet? Now is the time to get prepared, to scroll through your flood risk management projects with a highlighter and note those that are applicable to enter because we have some BIG news.
FMA and NRMA Insurance are proud to announce the future winner of the Flood Risk Management Project of the Year will now receive $10,000 towards a purpose relating to flood risk management or flood risk education.
The $10,000 prize is a significant boost from the $2,500 of previous years and will allow the winning FMA Member or Member organisation
to further improve their flood risk management projects, and strive to make their communities safer.
The Excellence Awards recognise outstanding contributions to flood risk management by an FMA Member organisation or an Individual, Professional or Student FMA Member, or person employed by an FMA Member organisation.
The Awards are split into two categories; - FMA –NRMA Insurance Flood Risk Management Project of the Year; and
- Allan Ezzy Flood Risk Manager of the Year.
Nominations for the Awards will be open in February and the entries will be showcased at the Gala Award Ceremony at the FMA National Conference at the Gold Coast.
There is presently an opportunity to the sponsor the Flood Risk Manager of the Year Award and secure the naming right. Please contact Glenn Evans eo@floods.org.au for more information.
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FRM SHORT COURSE HITS 500! |
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The FMA-OEH Floodplain Risk Management Short Course run at the University of Technology, Sydney has hit the 500 graduates mark!
Over the years since its inception the course has been very successful and completed by a range of participants including Council officers, consultants and undergraduate students.
The course provides informative lectures and interactive tutorials for those who want to learn more about
developing and implementing management plans considering best practice.
The course’s in-depth content is taught by FMA Executive Directors and industry professionals, including flood risk and emergency response management and land use planning professionals from NSW Government, local government, and consultancies, drawing on their many years of expertise.
Over three blocks during the year in August, September and October, participants are able to expand their knowledge and understanding of flood risk management and mitigation in Australia and appropriate development within floodplain areas.
The course will be made available again in 2018, with the hopes to make it available to interested parties based in rural areas in the future.
If you have completed the FRM Short Course, we would
love to hear your feedback. Contact Dominique Jovanovic projectservices@floods.org.au with your experience.
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WELCOME NEW MEMBER VIC SES |
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FMA would like to welcome the Victoria State Emergency Service to the national flood network as our latest Corporate Member.
VIC SES is the control agency for flood response in the southern state of
Victoria, and is responsible for the development of Municipal Flood Emergency Plans, engaging the community around flood risk and preparedness, and issuing necessary flood warnings via VicEmergency channels.
VIC SES is a significant contributor and leader in emergency management, and continues to strive to develop and
lead best practice by focusing on further developing its core business activities and strengthening its relationships/partnerships with other Emergency Management Organisations and relevant stakeholders, including Emergency Management Victoria.
If you are yet to join FMA’s growing Membership, or know of someone that could benefit from becoming a Member, please visit floods.org.au/site/membership to find out more.
Membership is available in several grades:
- Full
- Associate
- Corporate
- Professional
- Individual; and
- Student.
Also, Membership entitles you to significantly discounted
registration rates for FMA National Conferences each year.
Apply for your Membership now, and make the most of the benefits. |
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Many homeowners within Australia have under-insured their property and their contents, are you one of them?
Karl Sullivan, General Manager Risk at the Insurance Council of Australia provided a report to the NSW/ACT Chapter Meeting in Sydney this month
and revealed that it is very common for homeowners to undervalue their home and contents during the insurance process and suffer when they have to make a claim after a disaster event.
Being under-insured can occur for a number of reasons including being unaware of the real value of your contents and what they would realistically cost to replace, not updating the value of your property as the
market moves and being unaware of changes to rebuilding requirements in areas such as high-bushfire risk zones.
While the issue is very common and can be difficult to overcome when faced, it can be easily rectified before the fact simply by informing yourself of the details of your existing
policy.
Insurance Council of Australia has a wealth of information available at understandinsurance.com.au, which includes insurance calculators and tools, case studies and extensive material with
the aim of helping you understand your insurance policies clearly and avoid underinsurance.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS |
FMA Queensland Chapter Meeting, 14 February, Brisbane
FMA NSW/ACT Chapter Meeting, 22 February, Sydney
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Experienced Engineer - Floodplain and Catchments
Water Technology
Floodplain Engineer - Project Officer Shoalhaven City Council |
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Pictured: FMA Accounts Annette Evans at the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 Supercars this month. Where has your cap been? Send us your photos. |
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