The 2008 Floods in Queensland A Case Study

The 2008 Floods in Queensland: A Case Study of Vulnerability, Resilience and Adaptive Capacity Armando Apan, Diane U. Keogh, David King, Melanie Thomas, Shahbaz Mushtaq, Stephen Hinkler, Peter Baddiley

Wave of floods sweeps the globe Pakistan Floods Source: New York Times (2010) Toowoomba, Queensland flash floods Source: Flickr (Timothy 2011) Vaal dam overflows Johannesburg, South Africa Source: Smith (2011) Brazil floods & landslides Source: ABC News (2011) Brisbane River during the Jan floods in Australia

The 2008 Floods in Queensland – Historic Case Studies: Mackay and Charleville Mackay – coastal city Charleville – rural town

A Case Study of Vulnerability, Resilience and Adaptive Capacity: Theoretical Framework Vulnerable - “A set of conditions and processes that determine the likelihood of exposure and the resulting susceptibility of humans or human systems to the adverse effects of a flood or other hazard” (Few 2006) Resilience - Ability to return to former state Resilience – “The capacity of a system, community or society potentially exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure” (Hyogo Framework 2005) Adaptive Capacity - Ability to change to accommodate new state Adaptation - “change and the practice of individuals, communities and societies as they adjust their locations, life courses and activities to maximise new opportunities” (Nelson et al. 2007)

IPCC Report - Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Chapter 7: Industry, settlement and society “Climate-change vulnerabilities of industry, settlement and society are mainly related to extreme weather events rather than to gradual climate change (very high confidence). ”

Flood Types 1. Flash Flooding caused by rainfall – for example associated with cyclones 2. Riverine / Inland Flooding – often floodplains 3. Sea Level Rise / Storm Surge - mainly coastal areas

Climate change and flood impacts on urban planning Queensland coastline has 35, 900 – 56, 900 residential buildings located within the shoreline: Horizontal - 3 km Vertical – 6 metres Sea level rise of 1. 1 m Residential value of $10. 5 - $16 billion at risk

Resilience to climate change – planning legislation and policy Australian State Legislation Planning Policy - Flood Mitigation Coastal Policy - Climate Change impacts (storm surge) Victoria Planning and Environment Act 1987 State Planning Policy Framework Coastal Areas Policy (Clause 15: 08 -2) Victorian Coastal Strategy 2008 NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 State Environmental Planning Policy Draft NSW Coastal Planning Guideline: Adapting to Sea Level Rise State Planning Policy 1/03: Mitigating the Adverse Impacts of Flood, Bushfire and Landslide Draft Queensland Coastal Plan – Draft Guideline Coastal Hazards Coastal Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 Queensland Sustainable Planning Act 2009

Flood Mitigation in Urban Planning – the Netherlands Amsterdam is a coastal floodplain regulated by a system of dykes. Maintenance fee added to residents water bill.

Flood Mitigation in Urban Planning - Australia’s Regional Flood Mitigation Program (1999) National Disaster Mitigation Program $75 million to 270 projects: - construction of levees - house raising - flood proofing buildings - bypass floodways - flood control dams - retarding basins - channel improvements - flood warning systems - activities to raise community awareness.

Emergency Management Governance in Australia

The 2008 Floods in Queensland – Historic Case Studies: Mackay and Charleville North Mackay Source: GHD (2009)

Study Aims - Hypotheses 1. To understand how societies that are regularly flooded operate and the characteristics of their resilience or nonresilience. • 1. That those established in areas that are vulnerable to regular flooding, that have greater connections within the community display more resilience in a flood disaster event. 2. To understand the characteristics of communities that are ‘on the edge’, where flooding might push them into non-viability or reduced resilience. • 2. That social groups with special needs such as the elderly are less resilient to a disaster flooding event than other members of a community. 3. To understand the extent to which flood mitigation measures (including State Planning Policy 1/03) have been applied to reduce the vulnerability to flood events. • 3. That those who had applied flood mitigation measures were more resilient to flood disaster events. 4. The characteristics of vulnerability, resilience and adaptive capacity of households and businesses. • 4. That those who have more adaptive capacity, move from areas that are vulnerable to regular flooding, achieving increased resilience.

Case studies: Charleville & Mackay Average Annual Rainfall

Mackay – a wealthy coastal city Households (%) with a gross weekly income of $2500 or more according to Statistical Division Mackay Charleville

Mackay 2008 Flood Disaster Event (flash flood): 15 February 2008 North Mackay catchment Source: RACQ – CQ Rescue - after midday 15 February 2008

Hourly Hyetographs - Mackay ALERT station

Mackay 2008 Flood Disaster Event (flash flood): 15 February 2008 North Mackay catchment Source: RACQ – CQ Rescue - after midday 15 February 2008

History of Charleville floods caused by flooding of the Warrego River Part of Warrego River and Charleville, February 2008

Charleville Flood Disaster Event (riverine flood): 17 – 20 February 2008 Bradleys Gully floods Charleville (Source: BOM 2009) Charleville Town Map (Source: Murweh Shire Council)

Methodology Sample Group Charleville Mackay Total Number contact 65 400 465 Effective in-scope sample 55 87 142 Response rate 85% 22% 31% Number contacted 15 142 157 Effective in-scope sample 13 47 70 Response rate 87% 33% 44% Number contacted 30 38 68 Effective in-scope sample 23 12 35 Response rate 77% 32% 41% Households Businesses Institutions

Results

Hypothesis 1: 1. That those established in areas that are vulnerable to regular flooding, that have greater connections within the community display more resilience in a flood disaster event.

Household hypothesis 1 finding:

Social Networks

Emergency Management Governance in Australia

Hypothesis 2: That social groups with special needs such as the elderly, are more likely to display non-resilience to a disaster flooding event.

Vulnerability: the elderly Mackay Charleville Required mass evacuation of nursing homes. Several elderly admitted to hospital for care. One death (an elderly man). Lack of suitable accommodation with the required special facilities for nursing home evacuees. Distance between towns for resident or patient transport created a barrier. Limited radio channels for accessing information to provide care (some needing to rely on School of the Air radio channels).

Flood impacts on health Flood Contact with floodwater: Increased exposure to biological risks (toxins, pathogens, etc. ) Drowning Respiratory disease Skin/eye infections Water-borne disease Vector –borne disease(i. e. from mosquitoes) Displacement Disruption of systems: - food supply - health - water/sanitation - Livelihood - Property & assets Impacts on mental health Source: Few (2006) Lack of access to treatment

Hypothesis 3: That those who had applied flood mitigation measures were more resilient to disaster flooding events.

SPP 1/03: Mitigating the adverse impacts of Flood, Bushfire and Landslide Mackay City Planning Scheme 2006 contains a ‘Flood & Inundation Management Overlay’ which relates to riverine flooding Storm surge is covered under the Emergency Action Guide But - No provisions for flash flooding Min floor level 300 mm above the Defined Flood Event (DFE 1/100 ARI flood event used) But - Extensions to dwelling houses permitted if there is 1 “Habitable Room” at least 300 mm above the DFE. Charleville The Murweh Shire Council has a flood overlay as part of the Town Plan Industrial area outside flood prone area New commercial premises in flood area required to have an upstairs area or an Evacuation Management Plan Habitable dwellings 300 mm above last known flood height (1997 used) But - Unaware that SPP 1/03 is a policy & thought merely a guideline.

Glenella, Mackay These 2 houses with raised floors were the only 2 not flooded in the entire street

Flood mitigation – raised floor level Households Yes No Town Mackay Charleville 1% 9% 91% Businesses Yes No Mackay 6% 94% Town Charleville 18% 82%

Flood mitigation - insurance Household Insurance Yes No Business Insurance Yes No Town Mackay Charleville 68% 32% 68% Mackay 63% 37% Town Charleville 43% 57%

Flood mitigation – maintained drains and ditches Households Yes No Town Mackay Charleville 72% 74% 28% 26% Businesses Yes No Mackay 37% 63% Town Charleville 92% 8%

Flood mitigation – avoided irreplaceable items on ground floor Households Yes No Town Mackay Charleville 44% 52% 56% 48% Businesses Yes No Mackay 20% 80% Town Charleville 85% 15%

Hypothesis 4: That those who have more adaptive capacity, move from areas that are vulnerable to regular flooding, achieving increased resilience.

Plenty of ‘For Sale’ signs visible North Mackay Glenella

Relocation within the town Households Not at all Not much Neutral Quite a lot A great deal Mackay 43% 9% 25% 5% 17% Town Charleville 46% 11% 22% 9% Mackay 55% 10% 14% 19% 2% Town Charleville 91% 9% 0% 0% 0% Businesses Not at all Not much Neutral Quite a lot A great deal

Migration to another town Households Not at all Not much Neutral Quite a lot A great deal Mackay 55% 16% 4% 11% Town Charleville 63% 15% 9% 6% 7% Mackay 85% 7% 7% 0% 0% Town Charleville 82% 0% 0% 9% 9% Businesses Not at all Not much Neutral Quite a lot A great deal

Summary 1. Charleville was found to be a more resilient community than Mackay with more residents able to return home sooner. 2. Mental vulnerability was found to be a largely unresolved issue resulting from the disaster event in both case studies. 3. Flood mitigation measures such as raising the floor resulted in greater levels of resilience. Insurance coverage prior to the flood was also found to play a critical role in the adaptive capacity to flood disasters. 4. Relocation and migration were options considered by some residents in both towns as a means of adaptive capacity but relocation was not at all considered by businesses in Charleville and migration was not at all considered by businesses in Mackay.

Current state of vulnerability, resilience, adaptive capacity Mackay There was ongoing evidence of reconstruction in flood affected areas in February 2010. There are ongoing mental health impacts as a result of the floods. Residents are relocating as a result of the psychological impacts of the flood. There were flood alerts associated with Cyclone Ului in March 2010. Both towns flooded during the recent Queensland disaster floods. Charleville Bradley’s Gulley flooded again in March 2010 and floodwaters (4. 2 m) were higher than in the 2008 floods (3. 1 m). Ongoing mental health impacts and the Department of Community Safety has reported that the community is not coping at all. $3 million sought from the Federal government to build an estate outside of the town’s flood zone. Murweh Shire Council requesting a retarding basin or wall constructed.

Recommendations Facilitate community involvement in volunteer organisations to build social capital. Special Needs Registers to identify vulnerable community members. Incorporate SPP 1/03 into local government planning schemes. Ensure that flood damaged houses are reconstructed to comply with the SPP 1/03. Have Emergency Management Plans that can be implemented by anyone available if key staff are not able to be present.

Applications of Research Contributing to building more resilient cities to cope with natural hazards and climate change. This research is an introduction into resilience and adaptive capacity. Rather than looking from a vulnerability perspective of resilience, further detailed research is required on what makes a resilient community from both social and planning perspectives.

Acknowledgements All the householders, businesses and personnel from institutions in Mackay and Charleville who were so generous with their time and provided us with valuable insights and information on the 2008 floods. Ernest Dunwoody and David Liddell for data collection Charleville. Daniel Girling for the processing of data, tables and graphs for the Mackay and combined data. NCCARF for funding this work.

Key References Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2006, Census of Population and Housing [Online]. Canberra. [Accessed]. Attorney-General’s Department (AGD), 2010, Regional Flood Mitigation Program, <>, accessed 20 June 2010. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), 2008, Report on Queensland Floods: February 2008, BOM, Queensland. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), 2009, available: www. bom. gov. au [Accessed 6 March 2010]. Department of Climate Change (DOCC), 2009, Climate Change Risk to Australia’s Coasts: A FIRST PASS NATIONAL ASSESSMENT, Australian Government, Canberra. Few, R. , 2006, "Flood Hazards, Vulnerability and Risk Reduction", in Matthies, F. and Few, R. (ed. ) Flood Hazards & Health: Responding to Present and Future Risks, Earthscan, London, UK. GHD, 2009, Goosepond and Vines Creek Flood Study: Final Report, Mackay Regional Council, Mackay. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), 2005, Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 -2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. World Conference on Disaster Reduction. Kobe, Hyogo, Japan: United Nations. IPCC 2007. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. In: M. L. Parry; O. F. Canziani; J. P. Palutikof; P. J. van der Linden and C. E. Hanson, E. , Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment, (ed. ) Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Nelson, D. R. , Adger, W. N. and Brown, K. , 2007, "Adaptation to Environmental Change: Contributions of a Resilience Framework", Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 32, 395 -419.

Questions/Comments Centre for Disaster Studies, James Cook University Website - http: //www. jcu. edu. au/cds/ The 2008 Floods in Queensland study: http: //www. nccarf. edu. au/node/216 Melanie Thomas • Email : melanie. thomas@jcu. edu. au • Telephone : +61 421 721 689 Assoc. Prof. David King, Director of the Centre for Disaster Studies • Email: david. king@jcu. edu. au • Telephone : +61 (07) 4781 4430