Preparing for Queensland's next disaster

According to the IPCC, parts of coastal Australia are highly exposed to potential climate change impacts, from sea level rise to increased frequency and velocity of extreme weather events. The first national assessment of Climate Change Risks to Australia's Coast suggests all spheres of government, business, industry and the community will need to be involved in developing an appropriate national response.

 

In Queensland we face particular risks because, according to the Insurance Council of Australia, research indicates that the average "decay location" of cyclones is predicted to move southwards by up to 30 of Latitude. Major cyclones historically have tended to veer off the coast of Southeast Queensland before the hit our shores, but we need to prepare for the risk that a major event hits home.

 

SEQ Cyclone Hypothetical

The background setting for this Hypothetical is: major weather events occur in South East Queensland in 30-year cycles. The last major event happened in 1967. As this video interview with Griffith University's Rodger Tomlinson indicate, there is a risk that a cyclone tracking into the shallow water environment of Moreton Bay could build into a storm surge four metres high which then comes through the Broadwater putting thousands of vulnerable residents at risk.

 

To prepare for this risk, Green Cross and the Property Council of Australia organised a "SEQ Cyclone Hypothetical" in Parliament House as part of the 2010 National Business Leaders' Forum on Sustainable Development. The event was moderated by Radio National's Fran Kelly and occured without media coverage to encourage an open exchange.

 

The Hypothetical took place in the presence of an audience of 200 business sustainability leaders from across manufacturing, service and resource sectors. We were delighted that Climate Change Minister Penny Wong and Shadow Minister for Sustainable Cities Bruce Billson were able to participate in our vibrant discussion which involved CEO and Director level participans from Lend Lease, CSIRO, the Property Council of Australia and others including Green Cross.

 

Read the Open Letter from Green Cross to Premier Anna Bligh, Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, and Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke that discusses important conclusions reached at the Hypothetical.

 

Bovis Lend Lease supports Green Cross Australia

In addition to preparing stakeholders for major cyclone through national engagement, Green Cross is also working on the ground in Queensland with our partners to ensure good preparation for and response to our next major weather event.

 

We are delighted that Bovis Lend Lease hosted a Build it Back Green luncheon in Brisbane focussed the attention of community, business and government leaders on severe weather risks.

 

"Bovis Lend Lease is proud to be supporting Green Cross Australia. Through our extensive work in the area of disaster recovery and building communities, we understand the importance of stakeholder engagement and collaboration. This is why the Build it Back Green luncheon is  an important opportunity for stakeholders from industry, government and the community to come together and work towards ensuring there is a resilient and sustainable response to manage the potential impacts of Queensland disasters." Peter Ward, Bovis Lend Lease QLD General Manager.

 

Participants joining Green Cross and Lend Lease include: Ergon Energy, Energex, Insurance Australia Group, Swiss Re, Australian Conservation Foundation, Building Codes Queensland, Property Council of Australia, Emergency Management Queensland, Minter Ellison, CSIRO and the Queensland Government's Office of Clean Energy and Office of Climate Change.

 

This luncheon kick-started a process for planning a sustainable rebuild out of Queensland's next major weather event, learning from the models coming out of Greensburg, Kansas and New Orleans, as well as the sustainable recovery model underway in Flowerdale Victoria.

 

Build it Back Green is linked in the Anna Bligh's Q2 strategy

We are delighted that Premier Anna Bligh has selected Green Cross Australia to be a Foundation Q2 Partner, and that the Queensland State Government considers our Build it back green initiative to be a smart way to help Queenslanders reduce their carbon footprint by 30% by 2020, a Q2 goal.

 

The Bligh Government sees the sense in preparing for Queensland's next major post disaster rebuilding effort to make sure the very best resilient sustainable outcomes are possible.

 

Circles of learning: a community based government disaster response strategy

Usually major cyclones track the Queensland coast then veer offshore, but as we saw with Cyclone Larry in 2006, they can hit land. In the case of Larry, the damage due to severe winds was widespread.

 

Jim Varghese, now Executive Director of Springfield Land Corporation, has extensive public sector leadership experience in Queensland, having served as Director General of four State Government Departments.

 

After Cyclone Larry he was deeply involved in applying a response approach which was community grounded and enabling as opposed to "top down". To learn more about the "Circles of Learning" approach that greatly enhanced Cyclone Larry recovery, watch this video interview with Jim Varghese.

 

Queensland exposure to cyclones, flooding and storm surge

During the summer of 2009 Queenslanders experienced floods and storms with great intensity, but fortunately did not have to suffer through a Category 5 Cyclone since Cyclone Hamish veered off the coast just in time.

 

Over the past 50 years Australia's top end has experienced much tropical cyclone activity. A 2007 paper by the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Bolder Colorado stated that "the last decade has experienced a 300-400% increase in category 5 hurricanes" in the North Atlantic. The storm intensity increases predicted by climate scientists may be materialising.

 

 

Usually major cyclones track the Queensland coast then veer offshore, but as we saw with Cyclone Larry in 2006, they can hit land. In the case of Larry, the damage due to severe winds was widespread. 

 

Location	Damage
Mareeba / Eacham / Millaa Millaa	93 damaged properties
Babinda	80% of buildings damaged
Flying Fish Point	15% of homes damaged
Innisfail	50% of homes damaged, 35% of private industry damaged 25% of Government buildings damaged (schools etc)
Etty Bay	40% of homes suffered roof damage
East Palmerston	70% of homes damaged
Silkwood	Worst affected location, 99% of homes lost roofs or suffered structural damage
Kurrimine Beach	30% of homes damaged, 15% of private industry damaged
El Arish	30% of homes damaged, 50% of private industry damaged
Bingil Bay	30% of homes damaged
Mission Beach	30% of homes damaged, 20% of private industry damaged 45% of caravan park damaged
South Mission Beach	20% of homes damaged, 20% of private industry damaged
Jappoonvale	Possible tornado damage

 

If Cyclone Hamish, a Category 5 event with wind speeds up to 215km/hour had hit land, the exposure would have been extensive.

 

According to the CSIRO: "It is plausible that uncontrolled climate change could see global sea level rise of 1 metre or more by 2100 and more intense storms threatening coastal housing and infrastructure. Queensland's highly developed and populated coastal communities, such as the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, will be particularly affected by the predicted increase of sea level rise and floods. With almost 250,000 vulnerable coastal buildings, Queensland is at the highest risk from all Australian states from projected sea level rise, coastal flooding and erosion."