| FLYER ISSUE 3: MARCH FLYER
2020
| READ IN BROWSER https://archive.aweber.com/newsletter/awlist3776483/MzcwMTU3MA==/fma-flyer-3-march.htm
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NEXT FMA MEETING: QLD CHAPTER 5 AUGUST | NSW/ACT CHAPTER 20 AUGUST
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
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I wish to reach out to everyone in our FMA network and beyond to encourage and reassure you in this global challenge to deal with the coronavirus.
It reminds me that we aren’t invincible and that we all need to work together to continue living on this tiny planet somewhere in our great big galaxy.
With no vaccine likely for at least a year, the only weapons we have against this virus are social distancing, testing and isolation.
Sadly, that means we are unable to safely go ahead with our National Conference in-person this year. As always, our Program Committee and Steering Committee had put together another fantastic Conference in the great city of Toowoomba. It would be a great pity if that work is wasted so we won’t give up as I’m sure we can make it to
Toowoomba at some stage in future years.
In the meantime, I have been greatly heartened by the willingness of our proposed presenters to participate in an on-line event. Our Project and Services Coordinator, Dominique Jovanovic, is working with East Coast Conferences and our Program Committee to investigate the means by which we can still connect with our fantastic
floodplain management network with a “webinar” or similar on-line event. Stay tuned to our website and your emails for updates.
As floodplain managers, we know that natural disasters will happen no matter what we do. We know that disasters can only be managed by working together with combined efforts for planning, mitigation and emergency response. All of us will need to play our part in stopping the spread of this virus but also continuing our important work
in floodplain management.
Floods will still occur regardless of the coronavirus and floods can still kill people.
I implore you all to stay safe….. but also continue looking to the future this year and beyond.
If you wish, you can contact me directly by my new email at [email protected].
ID
Ian Dinham | FMA President
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NOTICE: COVID-19 CHANGES THE FORMAT OF NATIONAL CONFERENCE
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First and foremost, our thoughts go out to all those who have been affected by the unprecedented spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
So we can help keep you all safe, we will not be running our in-person Conference in Toowoomba this year.
We are proposing to run the event digitally through an online platform to ensure we can still offer you the key learnings so important to the professional development of our Members.
This decision has not been made lightly. We have concluded that these changes to the Conference are in the best interests of attendees and the broader community.
We will advise you of further details in the coming weeks.
East Coast Conferences will be in contact directly with all registered delegates, sponsors, exhibitors and presenters.
We thank you for your support of the Conference, and will keep you updated as plans progress.
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FMA EXCELLENCE AWARDS POSTPONED UNTIL 2021
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Floodplain Management Australia’s nation-wide Excellence Awards publicly recognise the outstanding contribution of FMA organisations and individuals towards promoting wise land use planning, reducing flood impacts, managing flood incidents or restoring communities after a flood event.
The winners of the 2020 Excellence Awards were to be announced at the FMA National Conference Dinner at Toowoomba on the 21 May.
However, it is with deep regret that FMA must announce that we are postponing the Excellence Awards for 2020.
The FMA Excellence Awards are the highlight of our National Conference each year, and they offer the invaluable opportunity to showcase the incredible work professionals in the field of flood risk management have undertaken in the past 12 months.
However, in the current climate, it may not be possible to provide these nominations with the focus, prestige and recognition they truly deserve as current priorities may be elsewhere for some.
For this reason FMA will be postponing both categories of the Excellence Awards (FMA – Allan Ezzy Flood Risk Manager of the Year and FMA – NRMA Insurance Flood Risk Management Project of the Year) until 2021.
We thank you for your understanding and your ongoing support.
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This month, FMA would like to acknowledge some new Members who have joined our ranks. We are incredibly pleased to have you as part of our national network, and look forward to working with you in the future. The passion and professional knowledge our Members bring to our network is invaluable - so thank
you all for being part of Floodplain Management Australia.
If you know of someone who would be interested in becoming a Member of FMA, feel free to forward them this email, or send them to floods.org.au/membership.
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ROYAL COMMISSION INTO NATURAL DISASTER ARRANGEMENTS
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The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements was established on 20 February 2020 following the extreme bushfire season of 2019-20. While the Commission of Inquiry was established in response to the widespread bushfires, it is required to “examine coordination, preparedness for, response to and recovery from
disasters as well as improving resilience and adapting to changing climatic conditions and mitigating the impact of natural disasters”.
FMA will be providing a submission focussing on flood issues. The submission period closes on 17 April.
Details are at: naturaldisaster.royalcommission.gov.au/
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REGIONAL NSW ORGANISATIONS LEADING THE WAY IN COLLABORATIVE FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT
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Pictured: Flood Forum Attendees in March (photo provided by Kempsey Shire Council).
FMA President Ian Dinham attended the most recent NSW Northern Region Flood Forum hosted by Bellingen Shire Council and Chaired by Kempsey Shire Council’s Flood and Drainage Engineer Jacob Franklin on the 5th of March 2020.
Presentations on the day were excellent and given by the Bureau of Meteorology (Alex Clifton), NSW State Emergency Service (Steven Lawrence), Manly Hydraulics Laboratory (Bronson McPherson), ENGENY Water Management (Dr Adam Wyatt), ADVISIAN Digital (suppliers of waterRIDE software) (Cameron Druery) and FMA.
The presentations focused on the themes of:
- Open source flood model data converted to flood information that is consistent across the region.
- Real time flood forecasting of inundation areas in urban zones using high speed 2D hydraulic models and viewing platforms like waterRIDE.
- Improving Flood Warnings and accessibility of Flood Study and Forecast Model Data for Purposes of Evacuation Planning and Response.
Other organisations that attended on the day included Coffs Harbour City Council, Richmond Valley Council, Rous County Council, Kyogle Shire Council, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and Southern Cross University.
The forum is held twice a year as a collaborative initiative to share local and regional knowledge and work together with the common aim of reducing flood risks and hazards across our communities.
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Pictured (clockwise from top left): YFM Committee Members Duncan Howley, Mikayla Ward, Elise Armstrong, Catherine Walker, Isabelle Testoni and Prawi Woods.
While we are disappointed we won't be meeting you all at the FMA Conference this year, your YFM committee is working on new opportunities for online engagement and collaboration during this period of #socialdistancing.
We are looking forward to using this time to practice becoming more inclusive and accessible, particularly to our councils and consultants in regional areas and Members unable to attend events in person.
Now is a great time to join the Young Floodplain Managers LinkedIn group where you'll find updates from us and info about upcoming online events: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13743564/
- The YFM
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UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS
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AECOM
and
If you are interested in promoting a vacant position with us, please contact us.
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TRAVELLING CAPS AND BEANIES
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Pictured: Myl Senthilvasan (Penrith City Council) at the Arrowtown Post Office in Queenstown, New Zealand in January proudly showing off his FMA Conference Cap.
As it's not safe for anyone to travel at the moment, we'd love to see your Work From Home (WFH) cap photos!
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