Territory Stories

Flood Warning and Damages in Alice Springs: Part 1 Executive Summary. Part 2 Tangible Damages Part 3 Intangible Damages & Emergency Procedures

Details:

Title

Flood Warning and Damages in Alice Springs: Part 1 Executive Summary. Part 2 Tangible Damages Part 3 Intangible Damages & Emergency Procedures

Creator

Handmer, John; Smith, D. I.; Greenaway, Mark

Collection

E-Publications; E-Books; PublicationNT; Report ; 53/1989

Date

1989-04-01

Description

Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).

Notes

Date:1989-04

Language

English

Publisher name

Power and Water Authority

Place of publication

Alice Springs

Series

Report ; 53/1989

File type

application/pdf.

Copyright owner

Check within Publication or with content Publisher.

Parent handle

https://hdl.handle.net/10070/228902

Citation address

https://hdl.handle.net/10070/673596

Page content

Technical Report WRA89053 Viewed at 03:02:00 on 18/02/2010 Page 6 of 139. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Background and brief ~. l' .' . h -1 d' - "'-' -' ,"' 30 - "'-:::- :)_ "-.:: .. ;..:.ng t:: ~e t 00 l.ng or .~l.lCe ;:,pr~ngs on ~!arcn ~ l..::JOt\,~he ~~~ter Directorate of the Northern Territory Power and ;-.]ate:- .:;uthority (PAWA) commissioned the Centre for Resource -;;r'[~ ::'....,,~-i rc)nmenra; Stud'e~ ('('RES) ~t the ~lJsr val'an ~;-;;:::.t-; .-...-, -:;: '.~J,-" __ 1"_ _ .... -'- 'l ... -..... ,>_~ + _~ ,_,-- ,L ~~ ~-. ...... ~.l.'-',:,,(;;._ ~nive~sity to undertake a study. The study had three main alms: (i) to assess the 'tactual damage" ca~sed in Alice Springs by c~e flood of March 1988; to the Emergency Services pre:1.0C-::;: Drochure; (iii) to assess the effectiveness and perceptions of the warn~~q svstem and associated Emeraenc v Service ooerations. _ .... -,.I .. The study brief specified that special atte~~ion was t::o be paid to the aboriginal cornmunity, which appeared t:) have been particula~ly severely affected by the flood. The bcie~ also limited the research to the urban area of Alice "'0- ~ ...... '--' .. r ..<- ':;Is. The flood producing rains were brought by a tropical depression which travelled from the Pilbara region of ~estern Australia across the continent to southeast Queensland. Rainfall in central Australia co~nonly results from easterly moving depressions, however OD this occasion the :-ainfall was exceptionally heavy. It is estimated that it released nearly 80 per cent of central Australia's annual a'Jerage rainfall in the 48 hour period". tlarch 30-31. Some 200mm of rain fell in Alice Spring~an6 parts of the Todd River catchment. The Todd River peaked at 1I.30am on March 31, at a gauge height of 3.98 metres. The flow was 1190 cumecs, with an ar-nual exceedence probability of 1 in 50 (l :50). River flooding was much less ext.ensive than indicated on the pre~ exiscing flood map, and was approximately equal to the flooded ~rea shown for the 1 in 20 event. Heavy rain in che city caused widespread flooding from direct local runoff and d~ain overflow in addition to river flooding. ?lood wate~ ente~ed some houses and businesses, but road transport both withi~ and outside Alice Springs was severely disrupted. !'.boriginal campers in the Todd River and adjacent a~eas '''e~e badly. effected. No official warnings of the flood were issued to the publi::: by the broadcast media.