Research Report – Geography
Natural Disaster – Queensland Floods (2010/2011)
In January 2011 Queensland experienced a river flood event of great significance.
Receiving the most rainfall Queensland has ever seen in history, devastatingly many lives
were lost and the insurance claim for those who were affected, exceeded well over 2
billion dollars. Torrential rain from December 2010, to January 2011 resulted in the
Wivenhoe Dam filling to 188.5% and the Somerset Dam to 189.7% of their supply capacity
(information recorded 12th January 2011).
Floodwaters swept through towns and submerged parts of Brisbane city, causing great
damage to infrastructure and destroying the homes of many. Just a few of the many
towns that were affected include Lockyer Valley, Charleville, Rockhampton, Ipswich and
Gympie. On January 11th the Brisbane River broke its banks, leading to evacuations in the
CBD and surrounding suburbs. On this day also, the Honourable Anna Bligh MP, Premier
of Queensland declared the affected area’s a disaster zone, a declaration that remained
in place until January 25th 2011.
The 2011 Queensland Floods were a result of extremely heavy rainfall over a short period
of time. Queensland also
saw its wettest spring in
over 100 years and a rise in
ocean temperatures.
Another major factor that
many believe caused the
floods to occur was the La
Nina weather pattern
which bought the
strongest winds and wettest conditions to Australia ever recorded.
Latitude & Longitude of significant area’s affected by floods –
Lockyer Valley - Latitude: 27° 33' 0" S, Longitude: 152° 16' 59" E.
Ipswich – Latitude: 27° 36' 56" S, Longitude: 152° 45' 49" E.
Brisbane City - Latitude: 27° 30' 0" S, Longitude: 153° 1'0" E.
La Nina is a seasonal interaction between the Pacific Ocean and the East of Australia. A
combination of strong trade winds and a prevailing wind pattern in the tropics forced
warmer water to “pool” in the Western Pacific. This “pool” of warm water was trapped
off the Australian coast,
therefore fuelling development
and heavy rainfall directly
towards Queensland. In
addition to the natural
elements that caused the
flooding, there were significant
errors relating to flood
management and the
management of various dam
systems which failed to contain
the additional water.
Indication of
where 2011
Queensland
Floods
Occurred
Indication of
town’s worst
affected.
Queensland is considered to have a sub-tropical climate and the excessive amount of
rainfall throughout December to January 2011 was not expected. The Queensland wet
season usually extends from October to April, however the 2010/11 wet season differed
from this. As a result of both La Nina episodes and the increased strength of the annual
monsoon, Queensland experienced record rainfalls during the end of 2010 and the
beginning of 2011. The period from July to December was the wettest on record for
Australia, whilst December 2010 was the wettest on record for Queensland. The above
average rainfalls experienced throughout Queensland late 2010 meant that many
catchments were already wet before the Queensland floods had occurred. Hence when
further excessive rainfall set in, already soaked catchments failed to absorb this excess
rain.
Flooding was caused when river systems overflowed due to heavy rainfalls occurring
during short periods. This was also caused by a tropical cyclone (Tasha) which formed off
the Queensland coast at the end of December 2010. Cyclone Tasha crossed the coast as a
category 1 cyclone between Gordonvale and Babinda, bringing significant amounts of
rainfall to northern parts of Queensland.
Climate Graph for Australia
Cyclone Tasha crossing
Queensland
The 2010/2011 Queensland Floods caused extreme disruption to towns and caused huge
changes to social, environmental and economic factors. The flooding was the worst in
more than 30 years and impacted over 70% of the state. The impact of the severe
flooding included loss of human life, damage to property and infrastructure, destruction
of crops, loss of livestock, and deterioration of health conditions as a result of
contaminated water supply. There was a major disruption in communication and
infrastructure such as the building and maintenance of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals,
retail stores and other forms of community infrastructure which were severely damaged.
Economic activities came to a halt and thousands of people were forced to leave their
homes, resulting in a disruption to everyday life.
These disruptions caused long-term impacts which include interference to clean water
supplies, electricity, communication resources, transport, the education system and the
health care system. This total change within the community has left those affected,
economically vulnerable.
Other social, environmental and economic changes included –
Mining – Weather conditions forced mines such as the Bowen Basin to halt production
and the transportation of coal was disrupted due to damaged rail lines. The loss of coal
production ranged from 15 million to 54 million tonnes over three quarters to June 2011.
Agriculture – Floods resulted in widespread loss, damage and disrupted fruit and
vegetable harvesting for producers. It was estimated that the industry revenue for fruit
and vegetable growers will decline by 9% in 2010-2011 period as a result of the extensive
flood damage.
Tourism – With footage broadcasted worldwide via news coverage and tourist agents, a
number of cancellations were received which means a huge loss of income for the
Queensland tourism industry. It is unlikely that the industry will rebound until late 2012.
Various organizations were set up to enable those who did not have shelter, to have
access to a place to say with their families. The government was just one of many to set
up shelters for those who had lost everything. Major retailers such as Coles responded
immediately to the crisis and did their bit by donating $1 million dollars. Coles also helped
out by sending more than 500 tonnes of food by truck to far north Queensland and more
than 700 tonnes by sea-freight to Cairns and Townsville. Despite the reconstruction of
much of the infrastructure, hundreds of thousands of people are still trying to re-build
their lives. Volunteers from various towns played their part in helping those who were
affected the worse, by donating blankets, pillows and other shelter resources, major
retail stores such as Bunning’s Warehouse, Kmart, Target and Officeworks also donated
large sums of money to the Flood Appeal.
The Federal Government introduced an Australian Flood Levy, in order to raise $1.8 billion
dollars for the reconstruction of infrastructure within the Brisbane CBD and surrounding
affected areas. This Flood Levy meant that 0.5% of costs will be added onto an individual
who earns between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. An additional 1% levy will be added to a
taxpayer’s income of over $100,000 per year.
The Office of Queensland Chief Scientist predicts that Australia’s growing population and
changing climate patterns implies that the characteristics of future-floods will be difficult
to determine, yet clever land use planning and floodplain management will reduce the
impacts that severe floods will have on Queensland in the near future. They also predict
that better technology will determine changing weather patterns, and allow the people
of Queensland to prepare for any danger that may be coming their way.
BIBLIOGRAPHY –
Type of
Source
Internet
Website
Style
Example
“Personal Impact of
Queensland Floods 2011”
http://www.aprs.com.au/australian-watermanagement-news/the-2011-queenslandfloods-the-personal-impact
Internet
Website
“Emergency Services in
Australia”
http://www.redcross.org.au/emergencyservices.aspx
Internet
Website
“Queensland Floods, and
their response”
http://www.qld.gov.au/community/disastersemergencies/qld-floods-2011/index.html
Internet
Website
“Australian Floods, What
caused the Floods?”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/a
ustraliaandthepacific/australia/8254976/Austral
ia-floods-what-caused-the-flooding.html
Internet
Website
“What does the future look
like?”
http://www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au/publicatio
ns/understanding-floods/future.aspx
Internet
Website
Internet
Website
“QLD Flood Crisis Map”
https://queenslandfloods.crowdmap.com/
“Queensland Floods
Information”
www.ewn.com.au/media/queensland_floods_c
ommission_bcc.pdf
Internet
Website
“Wesfarmers Sustainability
Report”
http://media.corporateir.net/media_files/IROL/14/144042/RBA003_685
4_site/queensland-flood-disaster.html
Internet
Website
“Counting the costs”
www.pwc.com.au