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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
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It's hard to believe that only a month ago all of us were gathered together in Canberra for the FMA's National Conference. It was an incredible week, and it was a true pleasure to witness the innovation, the heart and the commitment to best practice our delegates are demonstrating in their professional lives.
The greatest resource to come out of the Conference Week is the Conference Papers, Posters and Presentations. If you're a current FMA Member, or member of an FMA organisation you can gain access to them in the Members' Section of floods.org.au. This access is made exclusively
available to FMA Members for the first 12 months after the FMA National Conference.
If you haven't already registered for the Members' Section, contact Dominique Jovanovic (Project Services Coordinator).
Before we catch up at our next FMA Meetings at Brisbane and Sydney in August, I hope you'll consider attending the FMA-OEH Floodplain Risk Management Short Course (more detail on that later in the Flyer) - it is an excellent resource for all those involved in or with an interest in FRM.
Also, please remember the dates for our next meetings and workshops in Brisbane and Sydney:
Brisbane 7th August
Sydney 15th August
I look forward to seeing you there.
ID
Ian Dinham | FMA President
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PHD SCHOLARSHIP IN COMMUNITY FLOOD RESILIENCE
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The Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme program is supporting a PhD scholarship in community disaster resilience in floods. The Scheme is operated by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and is currently under review.
A key component of the review is to understand the cultural expectations of floodplain communities, the underlying assumptions about floods and flood mitigation that drive individual and community behaviour, and to identify the most effective community engagement mechanisms for driving safe and effective risk reduction.
The PhD scholarship is intended to provide significant insights to these issues, identify state-of-the-art approaches to community engagement in resilience building by understanding exposure, risk and vulnerability to natural hazards, and develop schemes for effective community engagement in the Hunter Valley.
The successful candidate will be expected to enroll full-time at the University of Newcastle and commence studies by the end of 2019.
Details are at the University of Newcastle website.
Applications close on 14 July 2019.
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NSW DAMS SAFETY PUBLIC CONSULTATION
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As outlined by Belinda Davies, Chair of the NSW Interim Dams Safety Advisory Committee, at the February NSW/ACT Chapter Meeting a new regulation was being developed for the NSW Dams Safety Act 2015.
This is very relevant to Councils with prescribed dams, and Councils and landowners with dams or retarding basins that meet the definition of a prescribed dam. There are currently in the order of 500 prescribed dams in NSW.
A 2013 Government review resulted in development of new legislation, the Dams Safety Act 2015, and identified the need to establish a new regulator, Dams Safety NSW.
To implement the new regulatory initiatives, the independent Interim Dams Safety Advisory Committee was established and has now drafted, with the NSW Government, the Dams Safety Regulation 2019.
The regulation and standards provide a new framework for declaring dams and demonstrating compliance to safety standards.
Details on the reform are at damsafety.nsw.gov.au then follow the ‘Proposed 2019 Reforms’ link.
Public exhibition of the new Regulation and associated standards is open until 5 July 2019.
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SUNCORP DISASTER RECOVERY REPORT
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Suncorp has released a report prepared by SGS Economics and Planning, which considers the role of insurance in restoring local community activity and reducing the long-term impact of natural disasters. Economic Recovery after Disaster Strikes looks at community recovery from Cyclone Debbie, the Tathra bushfires and the Hobart flood.
The report uses claims and recovery activity data from FMA Member Suncorp and its six insurance brands. For the Hobart flood of May 2018 the economic impact was estimated at $908 million reduction in local GDP. Suncorp Insurance paid $8.9 million in claims for household, motor vehicle and commercial claims. These payouts are estimated to have boosted the economy, compared to a scenario of no insurance payouts, by $94
million in 2018, $47 million in 2019 and $36 million in 2020.
In releasing the report Suncorp has said that governments should treat mitigation and resilience projects as investments critical to the economic future of communities. This reduces the physical impacts of natural disasters and makes insurance more affordable.
Read the report at the Suncorp website.
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FLOOD CoP WORKSHOP ON BRISBANE RIVER SFMP
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The Flood Community of Practice is convening a workshop on the Strategic Floodplain Management Plan (SFMP) for the Brisbane River on Monday 15 July in South Brisbane.
The event will:
Build an understanding of what is the SFMP
Identify which themes of efforts match your interest
Unpack the collective effort and tools needed to implement the actions.
The presenters and panellists for the day include Graeme Milligan (Queensland Reconstruction Authority), Carrie Dearnley (BMT), Shannon Haines (Ethos Urban), William Prentice (FMA Queensland Director and Logan City Council) and Collin Sivalingum (Red Cross).
The workshop is sure to be incredibly informative, so get more information and book your spot now at https://floodcop.com.au/upcoming-events/
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NEW FLOOD RESEARCH PROJECT STARTS UP
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The National Centre for Flood Research (NCFR), operated by FMA Member Southern Cross University, is starting a new project entitled "Exploring the access to, use of and trust in flood communication and information".
The study is being targeted towards emergency practitioners, scientists and the public, to seek views on which information sources are most used and trusted.
This project will generate information which can contribute to a better understanding of the appropriateness of flood information, and its access and use in flood-prone areas.
NCFR is inviting your participation in a 2-minute online questionnaire here.
Also, NCFR has an online Newsletter that’s a great resource for all things flood risk management in Australia.
You can register to receive it at the NCRF website.
Are you an FMA Member and have some news that would be of interest to our mailing list?
Get in touch by hitting reply to this email and let us know.
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NATIONAL RESILIENCE TASKFORCE CONCLUDES
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The National Resilience Taskforce, set up in May 2018 within the Department of Home Affairs, has concluded its activities. During this time it delivered:
The National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework
Setting the agenda for the foundational work needed across all sectors to reduce existing risk and prevent new risk being created. Former FMA Queensland Director Dwayne Honor participated in the “Policy Sprint”, which provided input to the Framework.
Profiling Australia’s Vulnerability
Exploring new ways of thinking about our vulnerabilities to disaster downloadable here.
The first tranche of Guidance for Strategic Decisions on Climate and Disaster Risk
The guidance is foundational and a first iteration, and is available here.
A blueprint for a new national information capability on climate and disaster risk
Emergency Management Australia (EMA), will lead the work needed to implement the National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework.
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FLOODPLAIN RISK MANAGEMENT SHORT COURSE
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The FMA-OEH Flood Risk Management Short Course will be commencing in Sydney at the University of Technology during August. The Short Course is offered in three blocks:
- Introduction to Floodplain Risk Management (1-2 August)
- Effective Consideration of Flood Risk in Land Use Planning (5-6 September)
- Managing Flood Risk to Existing Properties (3-4 October).
The Short Course is taught by industry professionals, along with emergency management and land use planning experts from NSW Government, local government and consultancies who provide invaluable experience and expertise in the area of FRM.
This Course has now seen over 500 individuals complete it’s lectures and interactive tutorials with several inquiries for interstate lessons.
For more information, please visit the UTS website.
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Pictured: Michael Cawood at HARC offices in Victoria.
FMA Professional Member Michael Cawood, one of Victoria’s most experienced flood risk and emergency management professionals, is joining forces with the HARC team from July 1, 2019.
HARC (Hydrology and Risk Consulting) is a Corporate FMA Member based in Victoria which specialises in surface water hydrology and flood modelling.
Michael has close to 40 years of experience, a proven track record and an extensive resume of flood and emergency management related projects here in Australia and internationally. He is also uniquely credentialed on all aspects of the total flood warning system and is one of only a very limited number of Level 3 accredited Flood Analysts working with Victorian State Emergency Service.
Michael has previously worked closely with HARC to deliver a number of high-profile studies in Victoria and NSW, and will now provide his services as an integrated member of the HARC team.
FMA congratulates Michael and HARC on their new business venture, and wish them the best. For more information on HARC, please visit harconsulting.com.au.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS |
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MORTON BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY
and
If you are interested in promoting a vacant position with us, please contact us.
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We have a Member who is trying to track down a Flood Wheel tool. The wheel is made of cardboard about the size of your hand, with ‘1 in 20’ ‘1 in 50’ ‘1 in 100’ on the outside of the wheel. You can spin the inside of the wheel to show how many years you’d lived in your home, and then the wheel would show you how many times
you should expect to get flooded by the different size flood events during the time you’d stated you lived there.
If you have access to this tool, or know someone who does, please contact us.
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Pictured: Chad Berginnis (ASFPM Executive Director), Doug Plasencia (ASFPM Foundation President) receive their 2019 Conference Beanies from Ian Dinham (FMA President).
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