Flood risk
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Material Information

Title:
Flood risk a paper examining the importance of building community resilience
Creator:
Sean Richards
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Place of Publication:
New York
Publisher:
Pitney Bowes Business Insight
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2011

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Floods ( lcshac )
Natural hazards and disasters ( lcshac )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
Australia

Notes

Summary:
This document is a discussion of the components of Australia’s flood risk management framework. It outlines the role that new flood risk mapping and modeling technologies are playing in increasing both access to flood insurance and improvements in flood risk mitigation. Though floods have traditionally affected only 10% of Australian communities, they are responsible for a third of total natural hazard damages and are the costliest of disasters to affect the country. Worse yet, researchers are predicting that climate change will increase both frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters, with floods potentially threatening a greater number of Australians. The 2011 Victoria and Queensland floods exposed weaknesses in Australia’s flood risk management framework. Response reviews found a lack of flood studies, municipal flood planning, accurate road closure information, rejection of local knowledge concerning flood risks, and multiple barriers to effective information collection and exchange, prompting reassessments of traditional approaches to flood risk. One component of Australia’s comprehensive flood risk management has involved a National Disasters Insurance Review calling for greater dissemination of flood risk information so that individuals are able to choose where they live in an informed way. It also calls for improving protection against those risks, particularly through access to insurance. A major obstacle to the widespread availability of flood insurance in Australia is a lack of information on flood risks, information necessary for pricing risk accordingly. Such flood mapping is also critical for flood mitigation and management, particularly when models are integrated into emergency planning and land use management. The document emphasizes the need for a single national standard for flood mapping, and better mapping over all regions of the country at risk of flooding. It highlights many of the new technologies being incorporated into flood modeling such as Location Intelligence technology that allows the placement of flood models over relevant spatial information, or Light Detection and Ranging systems (LiDAR) that help determine changes in elevation, vegetation profiles, and infrastructure, and web mapping technology for communicating flood information interactively. A major benefit of many of these emerging technologies is how easy they make it for governments to share information on likely flood scenarios with their publics. Combining this access to information with education on the public’s responsibilities on how to utilize such information prior to, during, and following flooding is critical to building resilience. ( English,English )
Subject:
Disasters and Resilience
Citation/Reference:
Richards, S. (2011). Flood risk: a paper examining the importance of building community resilience. Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI).

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
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Disaster Risk Reduction