Australia: BMT WBM to Present “Understanding Floods” Report

BMT WBM, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, joined leading flood experts to present their unique insight and knowledge at the Science in Parliament ‘hot topic’ briefing, hosted by Queensland’s Chief Scientist, Dr Geoff Garrett AO in Brisbane this week.

This follows the completion of a report titled ‘Understanding Floods: Questions and Answers’ which helps to explain the fundamental concepts of floods, including flood causes, impacts, forecasting, and flood risk management now and in the future. The report was prepared by the Queensland Floods Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) panel, upon which BMT is represented and was convened by Dr Geoff Garrett AO.

From December 2010 to January 2011, Queensland experienced widespread flooding, with three quarters of the state declared a disaster zone – many people are still picking up the pieces from this time of grief. Flood expert Tony McAlister, Managing Director of BMT WBM, took to the stage to address how the state of Queensland can help to manage flood risks. He stated: “Flood risk is a combination of flood chance and flood consequence and so to reduce the risk we need to reduce either the chance or the consequence. Flood mitigation dams, floodplain modifications, land filling and enhanced awareness and emergency planning will all help towards reducing this goal.”

As devastating as recent events have been, they are not unique with numerous floods having been recorded in Australia since European settlement. Tony McAlister concluded: “Climate change will mean that floods are likely to become more common. The social and economic impacts of floods are also likely to increase due to population growth and urbanisation. Therefore, it’s vital that we continue to invest in improved land use planning, better modelling, raising awareness and developing and implementing state of the art warning systems.”

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Dredging Today Staff, November 25, 2011; Image: bmt