fm-s104c-sharing australian experience by john porter

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SHARING AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE

Floods and Flood Management

John W Porter

Flood Risk Management Consultant

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development

Bank (ADB), or its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this

paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official

terms.



Floods in Australia?

Isn’t Australia just a dry desert?

Is this bloke crazy?

PHILIPPINES

THIS WAY



Eve n d e s e r t s f l o o d !

― j u s t l e s s f r e q u e n t l y



In 1904 Dorothea MacKellar wrote one of Australia’s best knownpoems:

‘My Country’

In the poem she talks of a sunburnt country . . . a wide brown land

A l and o f sweep ing p l a i n s ,

O f rugged moun ta i n r anges ,O f d rough t s and f l ood ing r a i n s

Floods were as much part of life in the bush as were droughts



Anyway, Australia is not all desert

And most Australians don’t live in places like this

They live in cities.



Au s t r a l i a n c l i m a t e i s s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e

EN S O e f f e c t i n t h e P a c i f i c o c e an

I n t h e 2 0 0 0 ’ s E l N i ñ o p r e v a i l e d , a nd A u s t r a l i a

s u f f e r e d f r om t h e l o n g e s t , h a r s h e s t d r o u g h t

i n i t s m od e r n h i s t o r y .

In 2010, the ENSO suddenly switched, and La Niña hit back.

From late 2010 through early 2011, eastern Australia

experienced a sequence of severe floods.

The town of Roma in western Queensland was one that

– after not being flooded for decades – was

flooded three times in the one year.



Q U E E N S L A N DF L O O D S

C y c l o n e Y a s i

F l o o d s i n

n o r t h e r n V i c t o r i a

Majo r f l ood ing o c cu r red i n

sou the rn and wes t e rn

Queens l and ;

and i n no r t he rn V i c t o r i a .

T h e n , i n F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 1 , n o r t h e r n

Q u e e n s l a n d w a s s t r u c k b y C y c l o n e Ya s i ,

a c a t e g o r y 5 c y c l o n e o f s i m i l a r f o r c e t oHu r r i c a n e K a t r i n a t h a t s t r u c k i n t h e G u l f o f

M e x i c o i n 2 0 0 5 . Ya s i w a s e q u a l l y

d e v a s t a t i n g i n t h e t ow n s w h e r e i t m ad e

l a n d f a l l , b u t i n t h i s c a s e t h e r e w a s n o l a r g e

c i t y l i k e N e w O r l e an s .



The f l oods I n Queens l and were

unp receden ted i n Aus t ra l i an h i s t o ry i n

t e rms o f t he i r s ca l e and economi c impac t s .

7 5 % o f t h e s t a t e o f Q u e e n s l a n d

w a s d e c l a r e d d i s a s t e r z o n e s .

i . e . , ~ 1 , 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 k m 2

At its peak, about half that area was

under water – about the size of France



The farmland of the inland plains was flooded



Around 70 country towns were flooded,

from the far west to the north-central

coast

Bundaberg

Dalby

Emerald

Chinchilla



A i rpo r t s and coa l m ines were f l ooded

Rockhampton

Baralaba



Toowoomba

Ipswich

Several cities were flooded

too

I’ll talk a little about

Toowoomba, because this is

where I live



To o w o o mba i s i n t h e mo un t a i n s ,

a n d t h i s w a s a f l a s h f l o o d .

Tw o p e o p l e d i e d h e r e .



35 lives were confirmed lost in Queensland (not an Australian record,

but bad enough) – and another 9 remain missing, presumably

washed away.

T h i s i s t h e t o w n o f G r a n t h a m , p o p u l a t i o n ~ 1 , 0 0 0 ,l o c a t e d d o w n t h e m o u n t a i n f r o m To o w o o m b a .

2 0 l i v e s w e r e l o s t i n t h i s s m a l l h a m l e t .



A b ou t 2 d a y s l a t e r, t h e c a p i t a l

c i t y o f B r i s b a n e d o w n b y t h e

c o a s t w a s a l s o f l o o d e d .



DAMAGES:

Losses t o t he economy were es t ima ted t o be up t o~$30 billion

Less than half was due to direct damages to property and infrastructure

Closures of rail lines (4,750km) and flooded mines disrupted coal

production for up to 6 months (Queensland produces 60% of world

coking coal exports)

300 main roads were closed, including 9 major highways (9,200km)

Food production and distribution was disrupted (including impacts of

Cyclone Yasi )

150,000 residential, commercial and industrial buildings were damaged

Many thousands of people were evacuated and took refuge in temporary

shelters



Af ter the f l oods comes RECOVERY

To help pay for the recovery, the Australian Government

imposed a flood levy of 0.5% of income tax payable on

income in the 2010/11 fiscal year (low-income families excluded )

T h e Q u e e n s l a n d G o v e r n m e n t

l e g i s l a t e d t o c r e a t e a t e m p o r a r y

Q u e e n s l a n d R e c o n s t r u c t i o n

A u t h o r i t y ( Q R A ) t o m a n a g e

r e p a i r s t o i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d

p r i v a t e p r o p e r t i e s , a n d t o f a s t -

t r a c k a p p r o v a l s p r o c e s s e s .



Othe r key t a sks o f t he QRA were t o :

ascertain community needs;

prioritize recovery works;

distribute recovery assistance finance;

collect information on flood damages and repairs; and

balance speed of recovery with good governance.

QRA i s s t i l l f un c t i on i n g nea r l y 2 yea r s a f t e r t he

f l ood , and i t s wo rk w i l l c on t i nue f o r a t l ea s t

ano the r 6 mon ths . I t has gene ra l l y been

rega rded a s a g rea t su c cess .

The i n i t i a l r e cons t r u c t i on budge t f o r QRA was

$6 .8 b i l l i on ; bu t t h i s was l a t e r i n c reased t o

$9 .5 b i l l i o n .

O f th j hi t f



One of the major achievements of

the QRA was to relocate the entire

town of Grantham to higher

ground – and have residents in

their new premises within 12

months.



The QRA admin i s t e r s t he f und ing and mon i t o r s

p rog ress o f t he wo rks , bu t t he wo rks a re ma in l y

ca r r i ed ou t by p r i va t e con t ra c t o r s , and S ta t e and

l o ca l gove rnmen t i n s t rumen ta l i t i e s .

Mo re t han ha l f t he i r budge t has been d i r e c t ed t o

t ranspo r t i n f r a s t ru c tu re – r oads , b r i dges , r a i l



Q R A o r g an i z e d a n I n t e r i m

F l o o d p l a in A s s e s s m e n t .

This identified 110,000 km2 in over 60

river basins to map. The mapping

uses available information – quite

variable in quality – to provide

information to local government that

will be useful for them in planning

recovery and in future land use

planning.



Brisbane River flood mapping



INNOVATION

Q R A i n t r o d u c e d u s e o f a h a n d -h e l d e l e c t r o n i c a i d f o r d a m a g e

a s s e s s m e n t a n d m o n i t o r i n g o f

r e c o n s t r u c t i o n .

Because of the scale and scope of the damages, a

consistent, common system was required to:

classify the damage;

identify areas of greatest need and individuals

most in need of assistance;

prioritize reconstruction works; and

monitor progress of reconstruction; ~17,000 buildings assessed &monitored this way



Damage Severity

! No Damage

! Minor

! Moderate

! Severe

! Total

Ex am p l e : R e su l t o f f o l l ow - u p

m on i t o r i n g i n J u l y 2 0 1 1i n t h e B r i s b a n e s u b u r b

o f R o c k l e a



Another response to the floods by the Queensland

State Government was to establish a judicial inquiry:the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry

(QFCI).

The ToR included:

preparation and planning for floods by governments& the community;

performance of private insurers;

the post-flood response.

The ToR also referred to more specific matters – including

the operations of large dams upstream of Brisbane, and

land use planning.



The Final Report of the QFCI was released in March 2012



Key recommendations of the QFCI

New flood study for the Brisbane River basin; and flood studies

for every urban area in Queensland.

State and local governments to maintain flood informationdatabases.

Local governments to prepare FPMPs (Floodplain Management

Plans).

Local governments to prepare flood risk maps, and display on

public websites.

State Government to provide guidelines to local governments.




Amendment of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009.

Require that flood risk be a factor in zoning of regional

development plans.

State Government to provide model planning controls that local

governments can adapt for local conditions.

Require the planning controls be included in planning schemes

and flood map overlays

State Government to provide a code with assessment criteria

for flood map overlays.




Appropriate building controls for designated/mapped

flood hazard areas.

Regulations concerning sewerage leakage,electrical infrastructure, etc .

Property acquisition to be considered in locations regularly

flooded.

Insurance companies to review/improve procedures for dealing

with claimants.

Annual mine inspections for risk assessment.

Review of conditions and monitoring of mine discharges.

Responsibility for abandoned mine sites.




Crime & Misconduct Commission investigate conduct of

3 named dam operators (professional engineers) over

the flood operations of Wivenhoe Dam.

Review of operational strategies; re-writing of the operations

manual.

Provisions/requirements for post-flood reporting.

State Government to develop a Flood Mitigation Manual for

guidance of local governments.



A s a f l o o d r i s k m a n a g e m e n t s p e c i a l i s t , a n

o b v i o u s q u e s t i o n a r i s e s :

W h y a r e s o m a n y r e c o m m e n d a t io n s

n e c e s s a r y n o w ?

S i m i l a r f l o o d i n g o c c u r r e d i n B r i s b a n e i n 1 9 7 4 ,

a n d w o r s e i n 1 8 9 3



W i v e n h o e D a m , b u i l t a f t e r t h e 1 9 7 4

f l o o d , w a s a d v o c a t e d b y t h e t h e n

g o v e r n m e n t a s ‘ f l o o d - p r o o f i n g ’

B r i s b a n e . T r u e , t h e 2 0 1 1 f l o o d w o u l d

h a v e b e e n w o r s e f o r B r i s b a n e e x c e p t

f o r W i v e n h o e D a m ; b u t u n r e a l i s t i c

e x p e c t a t i o n s w e r e r a i s e d , a n d a f t e r

t h e 2 0 1 1 f l o o d t h e C o m m i s s i o n e r

l o o k e d f o r s o m e - o n e t o b e

a c c o u n t a b l e .

W i v e n h o e D a m , b u i l t a f t e r t h e 1 9 7 4 f l o o d ,

w a s a d v o c a t e d b y t h e t h e n g o v e r n m e n t a s

‘ f l o o d - p r o o f i n g ’ B r i s b a n e . T r u e , t h e 2 0 1 1

f l o o d w o u l d h a v e b e e n w o r s e f o r B r i s b a n ee x c e p t f o r W i v e n h o e D a m ; b u t u n r e a l i s t i c

e x p e c t a t i o n s w e r e r a i s e d , a n d a f t e r t h e

2 0 1 1 f l o o d t h e C o m m i s s i o n e r l o o k e d f o r

s o m e - o n e t o b e h e l d a c c o u n t a b l e .



Coastal Queensland has a sub-tropical to tropical climate.

So floods are not uncommon.

But land use constraints in floodplain land have continued to be lax

throughout the State. At State Government level, there has beenno departmental unit or bureau responsible for flood risk

management.

In the city of Ipswich, for example, flood levels in 2011 were

similar to those in 1974, but the number of houses damaged was

doubled.



I n A u s t r a l i a , f l o o d m an ag e m e n t i s p r i m a r i l y a

S t a t e r e s p on s i b i l i t y ( a l t h o u g h t h e n a t i o n a l

g o v e r n m e n t s u p p l i e s m u c h o f t h e f u n d i n g f o r

i m p l e m e n t i n g f l o o d m a n a g e m e n t p l a n s ) .

T h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f f l o o d m an ag e m e n t v a r i e sf r om S t a t e t o S t a t e , a n d t h e r e a r e b e t t e r

m od e l s t h an Q u e e n s l a n d . I n m y op i n i o n , t h e

m od e l s e t b y t h e S t a t e o f N e w S ou t h W a l e s

ap p r o a c h e s w o r l d b e s t p r a c t i c e .

I s t r o n g l y c om m e n d t h e N S W F l o od p l a i n

D e v e l o p me n t M a n u a l



This manual requires:

a Flood Study

:technical analysis to quantify flood hazard and its impacts

a Floodplain Management Plan Study:social, environmental and economic analysis of management measures and plan options

a Flood Management Committee:organizes/supervises the studies, and finalizes the FPMP and submits it for approval and funding

extensive stakeholder consultation

Introduction to other good recent works on urban flooding



Introduction to other good recent works on urban flooding

World Bank (2012)

1. Understanding Flood Hazard

2. Understanding Flood Impacts

3. Structural Flood R isk Management

Measures

4. Non-Structural Flood R isk Management Measures

5. Evaluating A lternative Management

Options

6. Implementing Integrated Flood R isk

Management

7. Conclusion



World Bank (2012)

• Describes the causes, probabilities and impacts of floods

• Proposes a strategic, innovative, integrated approach to managing flood risk

accomplished by selecting and combining structural, hard-engineered

measures and non-structural management measures

• Discusses the means by which these measures can be financed andimplemented while engaging with and drawing on the capacities and

resources of all involved stakeholders

• Specifies the procedures by which progress withimplementation can be monitored and evaluated.



WMO (2007)

1. Urban Water – issues, impacts of urbanization

2. R iver Flood Management – structural measures, non-structural measures,

flood damage estimation 3. Flood Management in Urban Drainage

– control measures, environmental impact & management

4. Integrated Urban Water Management

– sustainabiity

5. StormWater Plan – integration of plans,planning structure, management measures, monitoring & evaluation

6. Case Studies – from Latin America



UNISDR (2012)

1. Enabling Conditions for R esilience –

political leadership, local sustainability,learning, cross-sector cooperation

3. K ey Trends

4. How Local Governments Build

R esilience – institutional, financial, risk

assessment, infrastructure, building regulations, land use planning, training & public awareness, environmental protection,preparedness, early warning & response,post-flood recovery & rehabilitation

5. Looking Forward – key indicators,

measuring resilience

6. Conclusions



WMO, GWP (2008)

1. Introduction

2. Causes and Impacts of Urban Flood

R isk – hazard, exposure,

vulnerability, damages

3. Integrated Management of Urban

Floods – risk assessment,management measures

4. Conceptual Framework – integration

with urban planning, land use planning, & stormwater management

5. Conclusions and R ecommendations



Thank you

fm-s104c-sharing australian experience by john porter

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