Posts in "flood" tag

EA Announces Response to QLD Floods Enquiry

Engineers Australia has just released a discussion paper prompted by the Queensland Flood Enquiry, their notification states:

Engineers Australia has completed a comprehensive analysis of the implications of the Queensland Flood Commission of Inquiry’s Final Report and its recommendations for engineering professionals. Engineers Australias report focuses on four key areas concerning flooding and floodplain management including; planning, resilience, response and implementation.

Engineers Australia Queensland Division President Steven Goh highlighted the inconsistent approach to flood plain management across the state as a key issue.

“Engineers Australia has not questioned the technical competence of the engineers involved in the floods. Given the circumstances, the dam operators performed appropriately. Flood operation is a multifaceted task that requires specialised operators who must use their expert technical judgment, with guidance from flood operation manuals or other appropriate documentation,” Goh said.

The full report from Engineers Australia is available online.

Reproduced from Engineers Australia eNews 9 July 2012.

Interaction of Catchment and Coastal Processes on Flooding and Inundation

The Water Panel is pleased to announce that the July presentation will be a joint presentation with the NSW Coastal, Ocean and Port Engineering Panel titled: Interaction of Catchment and Coastal Processes on Flooding and Inundation.  The presentation will be given in two parts by Seth Westra (UNSW) and Dave Callaghan (UQ).

When: Monday 16th July 2012 – NOTE a different date for us.
Time: 5:30 for 6pm
Where: EA Chatswood

Online registration would be appreciated.

A full printable PDF flyer is to follow shortly.

Murrumbidgee River Flooding

The Water Panel is pleased to announce the next presentation will be held Tuesday 26th June and discuss the March 2012 Murrumbidgee floods.

 Abstract

The March 2012 Murrumbidgee River flood caused inundation of properties from Jugiong to Darlington Point. Wagga and Hay, two major towns protected by levees required evacuation, and in other towns levee upgrade works occurred as the flood wave routed downstream. This presentation explores the situation prior to the flood, looks at flooding consequences and also at the complex operational decisions required to be made by the SES during the event.

Speakers

  • Mark Babister – WMAwater
  • Peter Cinque – Regional Controller SES
  • Steve Gray – WMAwater

Details

  • Time: 5:30pm for 6:00pm
  • Drinks & nibbles from 5:30pm.
  • Venue: Engineers Australia Auditorium, Ground Floor 8 Thomas St, Chatswood NSW 2067
  • Enquiries: Mark Babister, [email protected]

Printable Flyer

2D Modelling In Urban Areas – September Presentation

The September Water Panel presentation is titled 2D Modelling In Urban Areas and will be presented by Grantly Smith, senior Engineer at the UNSW Water Research Laboratory. The presentation will be held at the Chatswood Engineers Australia Auditorium on 27th September 2011, 5:30pm for 6pm start. Drinks and nibbles will be available prior to the event. The abstract of the talk is:

Flood events in Newcastle in June 2007 and most recently in South East Queensland’s Lockyer Valley in January 2011 have highlighted the importance of robust planning guidelines and building stability criteria for floodplains. These floods have also highlighted a requirement for accurate representation of flood hazard behaviour to support land use and flood evacuation planning documentation.
Currently, two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic (numerical) models have become the de-facto standard for baseline flood planning and management, especially in urban areas. Investigations addressing flood behaviour definition have typically followed a scope devised and refined over many years by government agencies to meet statutory requirements. However, the development, application and calibration of numerical models is open to considerable interpretation.

Individual agencies and the specialist consultants servicing these agencies have developed various techniques and methods to address overland flooding using 2D numerical models. However, in many instances, these methods are quite different and produce significantly different outcomes in terms of the generated flood behaviour characteristics.

The presentation will provide an overview of recent research undertaken as part of Project 15 of the Australian Rainfall and Runoff Revision and funded by the Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and WRL. The research project investigated the application of 2D models in urban areas, with a particular focus on the representation of buildings and other floodplain obstacles flow obstacles in numerical models.

A PDF Flyer with all the details is also available.

Understanding Floods Q&A

Queensland’s Chief Scientist, Dr Geoff Garrett, release a short while back a report Understanding Floods: Questions and Answers which attempts to explain the key scientific and engineering concepts of floods to the community. It appears to have had extensive input from scientific and engineering professionals and could be well worth a look. It is available as a PDF download from the Chief Scientists website at: http://www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au/publications/understanding-floods.aspx.

From the media release:

Understanding Floods: Questions and Answers (UFQA) explains fundamental scientific and engineering concepts regarding floods, in clear and simple language. It provides balanced and authoritative information within the current state of knowledge, and focuses on three key themes: floods and their consequences; flood forecasts and warnings; and managing floods. It was written by the Queensland Floods Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Panel, convened by the Queensland Chief Scientist, Dr Geoff Garrett, AO. The SET panel includes 25 Australian and international specialists with expertise across the range of flood-related disciplines. UFQA was developed in support of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry, to build capacity and understanding of floods in general. UFQA will also educate our leaders, the media and the Queensland community at large on the complex, inter-relational factors impacting on floods. UFQA will facilitate informed decisions to help shape the way in which we can plan for and mitigate our level of flood related risk now, and in the future.

EA Eminent Speaker: Flood and Storm Surge Levees

EA is hosting a talk by Dr Dr Steven Hughes from Colorado State University (USA) on Flood and Storm Surge Levees – design, maintenance & performance in particular how it relates to the failures during Hurricane Katrina. See the PDF flyer and the EA blurb below:

Dr Hughes is the Senior Research Scientist for Colorado State University, USA and is an international expert in the research and policy of Flood and Storm Surge Levees. He will be speaking on the timely topic of Flood and Storm Surge Levees – design, maintenance and performance and drawing on his experiences in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina.

Monday 16th May
Time: 5.30pm for 6pm Start
Auditorium, Engineers Australia Sydney Division, 8 Thomas St, Chatswood

Seats limited to 130 – please book online early!

Please RSVP online HERE or see the attached flyer for further details.

Please note: this presentation is hosted by EA and not the Panel event. If you do attend please confirm as the last presentation we advertised for EA was cancelled at the last minute with no warning.

UNSW Seminar on Hurricane Katrina

There is a seminar on Hurricane Katrina being presented by Dr. Andrew W. Garcia at UNSW on 28th September 2010 5:30 for a 6pm start. If you are interested please have a look at the attached flier for further details.

Hurricane Katrina Presentation Flier