FMA Flyer 8 August

Published: Sat, 08/31/19

FLYER ISSUE 8: AUGUST 2019

READ IN BROWSER https://archive.aweber.com/newsletter/awlist3776483/MzcwMTI4OA==/fma-flyer-8-august.htm

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

If It's Flooded - Don't Forget It!

As a tragic car lover, I was devastated to see a Lamborghini smashed into a tree as a result of aquaplaning during flash floods in Sydney in June this year.

Sydney had been drenched by its heaviest rain in three months, with accidents, transport delays and coastal water spouts a result of the torrential downpour.

With flooding on many Sydney roads, the Lamborghini slammed into a tree when it hit an aquaplane in Fairfield, Sydney's west.

We regularly urge people to avoid driving through flood waters as we know it can be deadly but perhaps we should also emphasize the dangers of driving through flash flood conditions and very wet roads.

Fortunately in this instance no-one was killed but…. what about some sympathy for the car?

Image: Daily Telegraph

I love James Bond movies but I wince when I see his Aston Martin damaged and I feel like writing to all movie producers to ask them to stop wrecking cars! After all, we see assurances in the credits that “no animals were hurt during the making of this film” so why not a similar statement that no cars were harmed?

Apart from my sadness, smashed and flooded cars add further to flood damage costs and have an impact on insurance premiums.

The conditions in Sydney were dangerous with Sydney Observatory recording more than half the normal June rainfall during the afternoon, a waterspout swirling off Clovelly Beach and strong winds affecting the coast. At its heaviest, catchments saw 14mm of rain fall in just 20 minutes.

Obviously, our message of… “if it’s flooded, forget it”, applies equally in flash flood scenarios and not just flooded causeways or riverine flooding.

Apart from our personal safety, let’s NOT forget the cost and welfare of our cars!

Ian Dinham | FMA President

FMA QUEENSLAND CHAPTER MEETING ROUNDUP

Pictured: Karl Sullivan (ICA) speaking to the FMA QLD Chapter Meeting in Brisbane.

FRM professionals gathered in Brisbane this month for the FMA Queensland Chapter Meeting to discuss the latest in the industry.

Attendees heard updates from agencies including the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, The Office of the Inspector-General Emergency Management on the Queensland Disaster Management Research Framework, the Local Government Association of Queensland and the Bureau of Meteorology.

Joshua Cooney of Suncorp provided a presentation on the organisation's recently released report entitled Economic Recovery After Disaster Strikes.

The report provides case studies demonstrating how insurance helped communities recover from Cyclone Debbie, the 2018 Tathra bushfires and the 2018 Hobart flood, and includes recommendations for substantially increasing investment in mitigation and resilience projects.

Karl Sullivan, Head of Risk and Operations, Insurance Council of Australia, provided an update on the response of the insurance industry to the 2019 Townsville flood, the recovery process and implications for pricing of policies.

There have been 29,950 insurance claims totalling $1.24 billion, and so far $520 million worth of cash, resources, materials and trades have been provided. There has been a large number of cash settlements, which helps the local economy, but does not always result in repairs being undertaken, or being undertaken to an appropriate standard.

Mr Sullivan said that nationally almost 95% of home insurance policies now include flood cover, but in Townsville 99% of people have home flood cover, and now are enjoying the benefits.

FMA Technical Director Danny Rose, together with newly appointed FMA Queensland Director William Prentice, led the afternoon workshop which allowed those in attendance to provide their feedback and suggestions on upcoming FMA Workshop themes and potential Conference topics.

FMA ACT/NSW CHAPTER MEETING ROUNDUP

Pictured (from left): Ian Dinham (FMA President), Chris Gooch (Parramatta City Council) and Sue Ribbons (FMA Communications Director) in Sydney.

The Bureau of Meteorology saw a packed room for the August FMA NSW/ACT Chapter meeting in Sydney.

Over 60 attendees from all around the state, as well as ACT, of were in attendance to make the most of the networking opportunities and updates provided throughout the day.

The meeting heard from the FMA Executive, including newly appointed FMA Deputy President Allan Gear, about FMA’s most recent ventures, as well as informative contributions from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (formerly the OEH), NSW State Emergency Service, ACT State Emergency Service and the Bureau of Meteorology.

2019 Harold Sternbeck Winner Chris Gooch of Parramatta City Council was presented with the prestigious Harold Sternbeck Medal and provided an abridged version of his award-winning presentation FloodSmart Parramatta: A Total Flash Flood Warning Service.

Also presented with a Highly Commended Certificate was Philip Conway (IAG), for Regional Sensitivity of Flood Risk to Climate Drivers.

During the meeting, attendees heard from Joshua Eggleton of BMT regarding the Young Floodplain Managers Network within FMA.

Joshua provided an overview of the establishing the proposed network, which aims to promote networking, knowledge sharing and collaboration between young floodplain management professionals, including a mentoring program and social functions.

The meeting endorsed in principle the establishment of the network, and further details will be reported to the November FMA meetings.

INSURANCE INQUIRY UPDATE REPORT

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released its Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry Second Update Report.

The report finalises the 13 draft recommendations made in the First Interim Report and provides updates on the five Focus Areas for the inquiry in 2019.

The ACCC’s First Interim Report, with 15 recommendations to governments and industry, was provided to the Treasurer on 30 November 2018, and the Australian Government is still considering its response.

FMA’s submission on the First Report supported the view that public and private mitigation measures should result in reduced insurance premiums. The Second Report contains recommendations that premium discounts for mitigation measures should be clearly stated, and insurers should provide information on mitigation works which could reduce premiums.

The Report also recommends that states and territories implement measures to prompt customers to investigate insurance costs when they are considering purchasing real estate. The Inquiry previously found that “residents purchasing property are often unaware that a property is in a high risk area, and do not consider the cost of insurance”.

The Inquiry is now working on five Focus Areas which require further attention. As part of Focus Area 1: Measures to further improve insurance affordability and availability, the ACCC is reviewing a range of options, and whether these could be applied in northern Australia. Issues include how insurers respond to private and public mitigation measures.

The ACCC has requested stakeholder views on Focus Area 1 by 6 September 2019.

REGIONAL QUEENSLAND FMA MEETING IN NOVEMBER

During the recent FMA Brisbane Meeting, it was announced that a regional meeting of FMA will be held in Townsville on Thursday 14 November.

Please save the date in your diaries now.

More details of the meeting will be made available closer to the date.

CONFERENCE PHOTOS AVAILABLE NOW

Those present during the recent August FMA Meetings were provided with the website link for access to the online photo album of the 2019 FMA Conference in Canberra.

The photos can be found in a Dropbox folder at this link

https://bit.ly/2M2b1RK

You do not need a Dropbox account to access and download the photos.

If you have any troubles accessing them or have a problem with your photograph being included in the album, please contact Project and Services Coordinator Dominique Jovanovic.

We are still waiting on outstanding Conference Papers from the Canberra Conference – if you have not sent your through yet, please do so now.

The next FMA National Conference will be held in Toowoomba from 19-22 May 2020. This event is sure to be our best yet, so save the date now to ensure you don’t miss out.

TWEED EMERGENCY DASHBOARD WINS AWARD

FMA Member Tweed Shire Council has won the Reporting to Your Community Award at the RH Dougherty Awards for Communications for the Tweed Emergency Dashboard.

The Dashboard provides the community with an online portal for emergency management in the area including weather warnings, road closures, power outages, water and sewer interruptions, and Council services and facilities.

It also includes links to resources that provide the community with useful information about planning for, and making it through an emergency event.

The Dashboard was launched in December 2018, in response to the devastating flooding of the area the year previous, and is accessible at any time of day by any computer or device with an internet connection.

The Dashboard can be found at this link to the Tweed website.

For more information on the Dashboard and on Tweed’s recent win, visit Council's website.

MELBOURNE WATER FLOOD STRATEGY REFRESH

FMA Member Melbourne Water has announced that it has started work on the refresh of its Flood Management Strategy, which sets the direction for flood management in the Port Phillip and Westernport region in Victoria.

In it’s August Newsletter, Melbourne Water has stated:

"As the regional floodplain manager Melbourne Water’s role is to coordinate development and delivery of the strategy, as required by the Victorian government’s Floodplain Management Strategy. As part of the refresh the strategy will continue to be a regional, multi-agency document delivered by a range of partners.

The strategy refresh will be completed by mid-2020 to align with the Melbourne Water 2021-26 pricing period, and come into effect in mid-2021, after the current strategy expires. Melbourne Water will be seeking endorsement of the final strategy by Melbourne Water’s Board, DELWP and relevant flood management agencies."

To continue reading about the strategy, visit the Melbourne Water website

YOUNG FLOODPLAIN MANAGERS NETWORK

A Young Floodplain Managers (YFM) network is being established within the FMA!

The YFM network is being established to represent, engage, support and inspire young floodplain management professionals across Australia. The YFM network will aim to promote networking, knowledge sharing and collaboration between young floodplain management professionals, and champion initiatives such as industry mentoring programs. Wheels are in motion for an inaugural YFM social event at the back end of 2019. Watch this space!

For further information or to join the YFM network please get in touch via the LinkedIn group (FMA Young Floodplain Managers).

WOLLONGONG COUNCIL SEEKING PHOTOS OF BLOCKED/PARTLY BLOCKED CULVERTS

Wollongong Council is working in parnership with University of Wollongong to train an Artificial Intelligence to detect the severity of culvert blockage during a flood.

Council has quite an extensive library of their own photos however they need more for the AI to be even smarter. Council would really appreciate if you could share your photos with them.

Please contact [email protected], thanks in advance for your help!

ABC KIDS FLOOD SEGMENT

Leonie Gray from Fairfield City Council brought to our attention a very catchy song from an ABC Kids television program designed to help children understand the risk of water during rainfall, specifically in creeks and drains.

You can listen to the song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj6c7vTAUrw&app=desktop

and share it with your families.

But here is a warning from FMA – it will get stuck in your head all day.

If you come across something that may be of interest to other FMA Members and flood risk professionals, please get in touch and share it with us, so we may circulate it to our network.