Thursday, December 4, 2008

Floodplain management in NSW: adapting for sea level rise

Source: Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia
"Sea level rise due to climate change has the potential to significantly influence floodplain management in NSW. This paper provides a description of the likely effects of a sea level rise of up to 1 m on urban developments. This is followed with a preliminary quantitative assessment of the increase in number of building floors inundated, frequency of inundation and magnitude of flood damages for several case studies. Adaptive strategies to manage the potential problem for both existing and future developments are then discussed. These strategies include amendments to Flood Planning Levels to account for the rise in design flood levels, planned retreat from an area, levee construction, raising buildings and constructing new buildings to accommodate a sea level rise."