Floods force evacuations in Sydney, Australia didn't this happen last year too?

So I thought last year's floods were at historical levels it seems this year's version is even worse.

‘Life threatening’ floods force evacuations in Sydney, Australia
Thousands of residents in Sydney’s suburbs are ordered to evacuate amid torrential rains and the threat of flash floods.

Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate southwest Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, with torrential rain and damaging winds pounding the east coast and floods expected to be worse than those that hit the region in the past year.

Heavy rain and overflowing dams and rivers all combined to threaten flash floods and landslides along the east coast from Newcastle to Batemans Bay in New South Wales state on Sunday, and rain was expected to intensify in the night.


“If you were safe in 2021, do not assume you will be safe tonight. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we could very well see areas impacted that have never experienced flooding before,” New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services Steph Cooke said in a televised media briefing on Sunday evening.

Earlier in the day, she urged people to reconsider holiday travel, with the rough weather having hit at the beginning of school holidays.

“This is a life-threatening emergency situation,” Cooke said.

a reply to: putnam6

So I thought last year's floods were at historical levels it seems this year's version is even worse.

If you let a sponge completely dry out, then pour a cup of water on it the majority will run off; only a small amount gets absorbed. The same thing happens to land when it's been in prolonged drought, so flooding is going to be reoccurring theme until/if the land gets fully hydrated again.

a reply to: putnam6

Looks pretty serious.

The girl @ 0.55.


I guess the problem down there is you not only have to deal with the floods but also all the deadly critters escaping the floods.

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: putnam6

So I thought last year's floods were at historical levels it seems this year's version is even worse.

If you let a sponge completely dry out, then pour a cup of water on it the majority will run off; only a small amount gets absorbed. The same thing happens to land when it's been in prolonged drought, so flooding is going to be reoccurring theme until/if the land gets fully hydrated again.

Respectfully drying out doesn't seem to be the problem, or at least this article doesn't seem to believe it's from drought conditions.

It's an area that gets flooding and last year was pretty significant, now getting a next-level larger dose in back-to-back years doesn't seem fair.

theconversation.com...

What’s causing Sydney’s monster flood crisis – and 3 ways to stop it from happening again
Published: July 3, 2022 6.49am EDT

So what’s caused the current flood problem?

The first driver of this disaster is nature and geography.

For many months now, much of New South Wales has experienced significant rain and associated flooding.

There’s a reason both the Hawkesbury-Nepean and Lismore flood the way they do – geography. Both areas sit in low-lying bowl-like depressions in the landscape.

Lismore sits at the confluence of several large rivers that each drain significant catchments – and so can deliver large floods.
And in the Hawkesbury-Nepean, huge rivers have to pass through a very tight “pinch point” known as the Sackville Bathtub. This slows the flow, causing water to back up across the floodplain.

The NSW government wants to raise the wall of the Warragamba Dam to help alleviate this problem. But as others have argued, this controversial proposal might not work. That’s because raising the wall will control only about half the floodwater, and won’t prevent major floods delivered by other rivers feeding the region.

The second factor making the current floods so bad is the exposure of infrastructure and housing. In the Hawkesbury-Nepean region, lots of stuff people care about – such as homes, businesses and schools – is in the path of floodwaters.

In an ideal world, nothing would be built on a floodplain. But due to Sydney’s growing population and the housing affordability crisis, local governments in Western Sydney have been under pressure to build more and more homes, despite the known flood risk.

In 2018, more than 140,000 people lived or worked on the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain. Due to this large population and the region’s geography, the area has the most significant and unmitigated community flood exposure in Australia.

Looking ahead
Unfortunately, the wet conditions we’re now seeing may persist for some time. Recent climate modelling suggests Australia may face a third consecutive La Nina this spring and summer.

This extra rain will fall on already soaked landscapes, further increasing the likelihood of flooding. And the ramifications will extend far beyond affected communities.

Disruptions will be felt in agriculture, supply chains, transport routes and broader state and national economies.

Building in flood plains is stupid. Expect to get wet. Dummies.

originally posted by: putnam6
So I thought last year's floods were at historical levels it seems this year's version is even worse.

‘Life threatening’ floods force evacuations in Sydney, Australia
Thousands of residents in Sydney’s suburbs are ordered to evacuate amid torrential rains and the threat of flash floods.

Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate southwest Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, with torrential rain and damaging winds pounding the east coast and floods expected to be worse than those that hit the region in the past year.

Heavy rain and overflowing dams and rivers all combined to threaten flash floods and landslides along the east coast from Newcastle to Batemans Bay in New South Wales state on Sunday, and rain was expected to intensify in the night.


“If you were safe in 2021, do not assume you will be safe tonight. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we could very well see areas impacted that have never experienced flooding before,” New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services Steph Cooke said in a televised media briefing on Sunday evening.

Earlier in the day, she urged people to reconsider holiday travel, with the rough weather having hit at the beginning of school holidays.

“This is a life-threatening emergency situation,” Cooke said.

S&F
This is the third time this year in those areas, This lot is worse this time around.

originally posted by: DaRAGE
Building in flood plains is stupid. Expect to get wet. Dummies.

That is kind of my point don't tell me it's climate change when Sydney routinely floods because its topography is the most likely culprit.


www.abc.net.au...

A new study has found events like those that led to flooding in Sydney in March could become 80 per cent more likely by 2100 under moderate and high emissions scenarios
As temperatures warm, the atmosphere's water holding capacity increases so when it rains we get more rainfall
This means flooding is something we are likely to have to deal with more often

a reply to: putnam6

China and a lot of other places are having the same problems. The rain bands have moved as the polar and equatorial jetstreams are merging. It might be permanent, but has nothing to do with humans, it would be nice if it was as we could then have some control over it.
The older mechanical cars could be dried out, but the circuit boards in the modern ones are toast, so that's a lot of write-offs.I wonder how the EV's are fairing.

a reply to: putnam6

Thank you for educating me on the background, P. It looks like Sydney is between a rock and a hard spot.

In an ideal world, nothing would be built on a floodplain.

In 2018, more than 140,000 people lived or worked on the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain. Due to this large population and the region’s geography, the area has the most significant and unmitigated community flood exposure in Australia.

So many times man does what he wants, even if it's against Mother Nature- then in our infinite wisdom we come up with solutions to try and force nature to conform to us. The more we try, the worse things seem to get.

It's nice to think we have the ultimate power to control and tame MN, but in the end I believe she will have the last laugh.

FWIW:

It is evident that while the earthquake risk is much lower than in cities such as Tokyo and Los Angeles, which are on active plate margins, the risk in the Sydney region must be addressed, particularly for special buildings like schools, hospitals, dams and high rise office blocks.

[www.tandfonline.com...]

Anon:
China and a lot of other places are having the same problems. The rain bands have moved as the polar and equatorial jetstreams are merging. It might be permanent, but has nothing to do with humans, it would be nice if it was as we could then have some control over it.

I think mankind has everything to do with it. Scientists back in the 60]s were telling us this is exactly what the result of deforestation would do to the climate. They also told us what overuse of our natural water resources would be, and they were spot on.

The earth was in a natural balance, where rain would be absorbed by the forests- which are no longer there. Streams and creeks that once absorbed much of the melting snowpack in spring have been eliminated for land development, and our rivers have been dammed to turn barren wasteland into giant cities lush with greenery.

The alarm was sounded loud and clear by scientists, but ignored bureaucracy. The jet streams have changed because earth has lost one third of its forests; more than half of the tropical forests have been lost. TPTB can call it Global Warming and convince the youth of today it's all our fault for driving cars and using electricity, but the facts remain- there was more than enough evidence to show abuse of our vast natural resources would have catastrophic consequences, yet those warnings went unheeded. The can was kicked down the road for the almighty dollar.

No matter how you cut it, life at the current level is not sustainable. Man will either address the issues and make some tough choices, or nature will do it for us. I give a 'no confidence' vote to mankind and place my bet on Mother Nature.

Just after the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago 57% of the world’s habitable land was covered by forest. That’s 6 billion hectares . Today, only 4 billion hectares are left.

[ourworldindata.org...]

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: putnam6

Thank you for educating me on the background, P.

It looks like Sydney is between a rock and a hard spot.

In an ideal world, nothing would be built on a floodplain.

In 2018, more than 140,000 people lived or worked on the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain. Due to this large population and the region’s geography, the area has the most significant and unmitigated community flood exposure in Australia.

So many times man does what he wants, even if it's against Mother Nature- then in our infinite wisdom we come up with solutions to try and force nature to conform to us. The more we try, the worse things seem to get.

It's nice to think we have the ultimate power to control and tame MN, but in the end I believe she will have the last laugh.

FWIW:

It is evident that while the earthquake risk is much lower than in cities such as Tokyo and Los Angeles, which are on active plate margins, the risk in the Sydney region must be addressed, particularly for special buildings like schools, hospitals, dams and high rise office blocks.

[www.tandfonline.com...]

My apologies Nugget I hope I didn't come across as a know-it-all jerkwad, especially when I'm ignorant as hell and all I did was search and find a relevant article from last year. I've just been fascinated by Australia my whole life, while my actual knowledge is limited, I enjoy the quirkiness of Australia and the personalities of its people.

Lucky Australia has a new Prime Minister who has Australian Safety as his number 1 priority, and he will work to resolve this disaster at warp speed. Wait What?.... he's in the Ukraine kissing Zelensky's ass?

Crikey!

originally posted by: PureBlood
Lucky Australia has a new Prime Minister who has Australian Safety as his number 1 priority, and he will work to resolve this disaster at warp speed. Wait What?.... he's in the Ukraine kissing Zelensky's ass?

Crikey!

Isn't that crazy, hell I'm pissed at American politicians kissing his azz while visiting him. My pet theory is they are getting something for the visit and the show of support.

I've never seen as many heads of state and politicians visit a country where a war is currently happening.

a reply to: putnam6

My apologies Nugget I hope I didn't come across as a know-it-all jerkwad

Absolutely not! I'm the one with egg on my face for not researching the subject matter before commenting, and I sincerely appreciate you for getting me on topic!

I, too, have been fascinated with Australia; especially its rich Aboriginal history and the diverse wildlife. I once had a pair of Moluccan Cockatoos, and loved to daydream about living 'outback' with trees full of tame cockatoos. Sweetest*birds*ever!