Why does australia get flooded

If extreme weather conditions are one of the major causes of floods, then we need to start thinking more about climate change. Australia has clearly been affected by climate change in the past year, having gone from experiencing unprecedented bushfires that devastated wildlife, to this extremely rare flooding. Additionally, warmer ocean surfaces increase the rate of evaporation, which creates moist air and also increases the chance of rain.

But how can we slow down or prevent climate change from happening? The first thing you can do is try to turn your climate anxiety into positive action , and put pressure on local and national governments to make changes. This could take the form of signing petitions, going to protests, writing letters to your MP, and educating people on climate change. The second way you can make a difference is by focusing on individual lifestyle changes that lessen your impact on the earth and those who live in it.

This includes things like using environmentally-friendly transport, buying locally and trying to create less waste. You can check out our blog post on how to live sustainably to learn more about making positive changes. The Australian floods thankfully have come to an end, but sadly the repercussions are still being felt across the nation. Of course, there will be more floods and extreme weather events, but hopefully, this article has helped you feel more prepared to face such threats.

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Build your knowledge with top universities and organisations. Learn more about how FutureLearn is transforming access to education. Share this post. University of Exeter Learn About Weather. Cardiff University Extreme Geological Events. Previous post. Although flash floods are generally localised, they pose a significant threat because of their unpredictability and normally short duration.

Just because an area has not flooded in the past, does not mean it will not flood in future. Similarly, just because an area flooded during one event, does not mean that it will necessarily flood during the next one. The Bureau of Meteorology maintains the Australia Rainfall and River Conditions which contains up-to-date rainfall and river information for all catchments within Australia.

The most costly summer for floods in Australia was , with extensive flooding in the Lockyer Valley, Ipswich and Brisbane in January There were 35 deaths and 20, people were made homeless.

A comparison of disaster cost estimates in Australia. International J of DRR. Report with AGD. Geoscience Australia is committed to support Australia's capability to managing the impact of natural hazards, including flood.

Geoscience Australia:. The Australian Flood Risk Information Portal the portal enables flood information, currently held by different sources, to be accessible from a single online location. The portal includes a database of flood study information and metadata the Australian Flood Studies Database. The portal provides access to authoritative flood maps and flood studies, as well as information about surface water observations derived from the analysis of satellite imagery.

The portal incorporates tools that enable users to search, display and retrieve information. The data management tools and standards that have been developed for the portal will enable data custodians to standardise their data and upload it to the portal, or to make compliant data accessible via web services.

The information in the portal has been provided by local, state and territories governments. Contributing more flood studies will significantly enhance its value. It will improve our understanding of flood behaviour on a regional scale, which is essential because floods do not respect jurisdictional boundaries. The Australian Flood Risk Information Portal the portal hosts data and tools that allow public discovery, visualisation and retrieval of flood studies, flood maps, satellite derived water observations and other related information from a central location.

The portal is focussed on providing access to flood information from authoritative sources. The main catalogue of information available through the portal is the Australian Flood Studies Database. Information in the portal can be searched and accessed by all users, but only registered users can add flood studies and associated maps to the database.

A registered user would typically have been responsible for the creation or publication of flood hazard information, and might include state authorities, local councils, consultants and authorised data custodians. Data custodians can share their flood study information with other users either by adding data directly into the portal's data catalogue, the Australian Flood Studies Database, or via web services.

Data Entry Information Information on entering data into the portal, including how to login or register to use the Data Entry Application. Portal Framework Describes the overarching approach taken in developing the portal, as well as the agreed principles and benefits supporting the portal.

Log in. For example, over the week to March 23, the town of Comboyne, southwest of Port Macquarie, recorded an extraordinary mm of rainfall.

This included three successive days with more than mm. The NSW coast is no stranger to extreme rainfall — there have been five events in the past decade with daily totals exceeding mm. However, the current event is unusual because of its duration and geographic extent.

Remember that as the air warms, its water-holding capacity increases, particularly over the oceans. These warmer conditions are likely to be fuelling the systems driving the extreme rainfall and associated flooding in NSW. Weather and climate are not the only influences on extreme flood events.

The Hawkesbury—Nepean region in Western Sydney, currently experiencing major flooding, is a prime example. Five major tributaries, including the Warragamba and Nepean Rivers, flow into this extensively urbanised valley. Improving our understanding of historical weather data may help improve future climate change risk assessment. For example, past floods in the Hawkesbury—Nepean have been a lot worse than the current disaster.

The silver lining was that everyone arrived to the evac centre in style - via our big red trucks. Ms Berejiklian, the NSW premier, said: "What we're going through now is different to what you've been through for the last 50 years, so please take it seriously.

The intense summer of rain and floods in eastern Australia is a stark contrast to a year ago, when many of the same areas were scorched by mammoth bushfires and ravaged by drought. Are you in the affected region? If it is safe to do, share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay bbc. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.

You can also get in touch in the following ways:. If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay bbc. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. In pictures: Australia's 'one-in-ayear' flood. Stranded cows rescued from Australian floods. Australia told to plan for 'simultaneous disasters'.

Couple's house swept away. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Neighbours filmed one couple's home being carried along by flash floods in Taree north of Sydney.