Analysis of damage to buildings following the 2010-11 Eastern Australia floods
Authors: Matthew Mason, Emma Phillips, Tetsuya Okada and James O’Brien
Year: 2012
Utilising observations of damage to buildings in Brisbane, Ipswich and Grantham, a predictive model for estimating flood loss and occupant displacement has been developed. The model can be used for flood risk assessments or rapid assessment of impacts following a flood event. This research quantifies the extent of damage to buildings in Queensland and Victoria following the 201011 Eastern Australia flooding, as well as analysing the role that building and planning controls have in mitigating or exacerbating flood damage. From the perspective of building inundation, the worst affected areas in Queensland were the Brisbane and Ipswich City Councils as well as the Lockyer Valley, Central Highlands and Rockhampton Regional Councils. In Victoria the Buloke, Campaspe, Central Gold Fields and Loddon Councils also reported significant levels of inundation. In all, insured losses reached $2.5 billion. This study found that more than 28,000 properties were inundated in Queensland with around half of these in Brisbane and one quarter in Ipswich. In Victoria around 2,500 buildings were affected throughout the state. Of the residential properties affected in Brisbane, around 90% were in areas developed prior to any form of planning or building controls relating to floodplain management (i.e. the late 1970s) and the vast majority experienced flooding during the 1974 floods.
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