More floods could hit communities that are already devastated this summer, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning a rare “triple La Niña” may be on the cards. Is it time for these communities to move?
More floods could be coming. After winter deluges gave Sydney its wettest July ever, the weather bureau says a rare “triple La Niña” may be on the cards., is officially over. But the Bureau of Meteorology says there is a 50 per cent chance of another La Niña event – part of the complex cycle of currents and air temperatures that typically means more rain over Australia’s north and east – this summer.
The number of natural disasters that cost insurers more than $50 million rose to 42 this decade, compared with 30 between 2002-2011, council data shows. Grissing says heat waves and floods have become the biggest natural hazard killers, with heat waves causing 4775 deaths and floods causing 2002 fatalities since 1900. CSIRO data indicates parts of Australia had more than 25 additional dangerous fire weather days in 2020 compared with 1950.The 20 localities with the highest risk hazard profiles are those prone to floods and cyclones.
“There are without a doubt areas in some of these most vulnerable communities where planning mistakes were made in the past. Residential housing shouldn’t have been built there,” Hall says. “What we have had on a pretty informal basis is a discussion about planning. I think we have a common view that you can’t continue to commit the same issues and wonder why you get the same outcomes,” Perrottet said.What is the economic cost of our natural disasters?
Insurance Australia Group says it does not expect the recent high costs of natural disasters to relent. With another potential La Niña event this summer, the company has upped its annual insurance allowance 19 per cent this financial year to reflect the “increasing frequency and severity of natural perils”.
He said additional spending on measures that look like an “integrated package”, such as raising houses, building levees, constructing flood mitigation dams, developing warning systems would help protect floodplain communities.