Disaster Risk Science Profile

Background

The Institute for International Development (IID) is building on its extensive environmental and resource management work in Australia to provide applied risk science skills to both the public and private sectors. These skills particularly apply to mitigating the impact of natural disasters on developed communities.

IID has retained the services of a highly skilled professional team able to provide expert risk assessment in all natural hazard areas. This team is able to draw on spatial information, land and environmental management, land use planning and project management expertise to ensure a holistic approach to disaster risk mitigation.

In addition, strong and effective working relationships are maintained with leading public sector and academic institutions that work in the disaster risk management field. These include the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia (formerly the Australian Geological Survey Organisation - AGSO), Risk Frontiers (the Natural Hazards Research Centre at Macquarie University) and the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook University.

By drawing on this very significant skills and knowledge base, IID is able to assemble expert teams tailored to meet the requirements of any disaster risk science task.

Our Approach to Disaster Risk Management Research

IID models its approach to disaster risk management on the experience gained under leading-edge Australian and International disaster risk research programs, such as the Tropical Cyclone Coastal Impacts Program (coordinated by the Bureau of Meteorology), the Cities Project run by AGSO and the various international programs run under the UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).

These research programs have all demonstrated the relevance, appropriateness and benefits of the Australia and New Zealand Risk Management Standard (AS/NZS 4360-1999) and its application to disaster risk management. Many of the experts available to IID for disaster risk management projects were directly involved in one or more of these programs and in the adaptation of AS/NZS 4360-199 to the emergency management industry.

The modern approach to disaster risk management now emphasises the consequences of hazard impact on communities and how best to minimise those consequences. This demands an holistic approach. It is no longer appropriate, for example, to simply focus on the hazard phenomena, its history of impact and probability of recurrence. It is essential to also develop a comprehensive understanding of the community that is exposed to the hazard (its people, buildings, infrastructure, economic resources and natural environment) and the degree to which those elements are vulnerable to various hazard impacts.

Further, it is widely acknowledged that it is no longer appropriate to simply focus on the physical consequences of disaster; it is essential to consider the ‘triple bottom line’ of disasters - the economic, social and environmental consequences.

The IID approach is consistent with requirements established for disaster risk management studies by:

the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services for projects under the Natural Disaster Risk Management Studies Program;
The Australian Emergency Risk Management Applications Guide, Part II, Approaches to Emergency Management, Volume I, Risk Management, published by Emergency Management Australia in 2000; and,
state-level disaster risk management guidelines such as those produced in 1999 by the Queensland Department of Emergency Services.

DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES OFFERED

IID is able to offer the following range of disaster risk management services covering the natural hazards such as bushfire, storm and severe wind, flood, storm tide, tsunami, landslide, earthquake and heatwave.

risk identification studies including analysis of the elements in the community at risk and their vulnerability;
risk assessment studies for single hazards or for multi-hazard situations;
GIS-based disaster management information system design, development and training;
post-disaster surveys and studies;
community consultation, community education and community awareness programs;
peer reviews and technical assessment panels.

TRACK RECORD

The following is an indication of the very recent studies demonstrating the breadth of experience of personnel now available through IID;

Bushfire Risk Management Strategy Studies for, Pine Rivers Shire, Queensland; Brisbane City, Queensland; Caloundra City, Queensland; Maroochy Shire, Queensland; North Stradbroke Island, (Redland Shire, Queensland); Logan City Queensland.

The studies produced a series of strategies for implementation by the local authority to mitigate the risk and reduce the impact of bushfire within their areas of control. The studies upgraded hazard mapping (to a resolution of 25 m) and mapped fire risk using an analysis of property exposure and community vulnerability. In particular, they provided recommendations in respect of special conditions or controls applicable in high-risk areas at the time of development, needed to mitigate bushfire hazard and risk.

A key feature of the studies was the development of a dynamic hazard mapping and risk analysis system for inclusion in the Council’s information and decision support system. This included the development of a fire potential monitoring methodology, using NDVI values and long term climatic data at a resolution of 1 km. The studies also examined proposed mitigation strategies and any legislative changes resulting from the recent NSW and ACT bushfire disasters experience and addressed the latest requirements of the Building Code of Australia.

The result was the development of a Bushfire Disaster Risk Management Strategy including a Counter Disaster Planning document; and a strategic planning document specific to the needs of the local authority.

Multi-hazard Natural Disaster Risk Management Studies for, Beaudesert Shire, Queensland, Balonne Shire, Queensland, Logan City Queensland.

The studies produced a series of strategies for implementation by the local authority to mitigate the risk and reduce the impact of natural disasters within the authority area, including flood, bushfire, landslide, storm and severe wind, earthquake and heatwave. The studies catalogued and mapped private and public assets, facilities and infrastructure at risk and undertook and assessment of the historical hazard impacts within the Shire using national databases such as those maintained by the Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia (previously known as AGSO). Modelling the likely consequences of hazard impacts across a range of magnitude probabilities was also undertaken, including the extent of inundation and its impact on the community to events with 50 year and 100 year average recurrence intervals (ARI), as well as the probable maximum level.

Community exposure to the modelled events was measured in terms of the expected damage to domestic structures (houses and flats); the exposure of critical facilities (e.g. fuel depots, power substations, water treatment plants, health centres, etc); sensitive facilities (e.g. schools, pre schools, nursing homes, shopping centres, etc); and major infrastructure elements (e.g. roads, bridges, railways, power lines, etc). The analysis of community vulnerability included estimates of damage to domestic structures and the road network, estimates of potential casualties, numbers of people likely to require evacuation and/or temporary shelter and sustenance, the likely time required to restore essential services and identified potential sources of secondary hazard exposure, such as the stores of hazardous materials in flood or fire-prone areas. The studies addressed the latest requirements of the Building Code of Australia and included the production of a risk register in map, tabular and narrative form, along the lines laid out in Zamecka and Buchanan (1999).

Single hazard Disaster Risk Management Studies have been conducted, including landslide (for both Brisbane City and Townsville City); earthquake (Brisbane City); tsunami and storm tide (three peri-urban villages near Port Vila, Vanuatu); and heatwave (18 local governments covering South-East Queensland).

The end result was the identification of a range of structural and non-structural risk treatment strategies, based on the outcomes of the risk analysis and a strategic planning document specific to the ongoing needs of the local authority.