Victorian Government Response to Victorian Floods Review
The Victorian Government has released a plan in response to the Review of the 2010-11 Flood Warning and Response.
The Review of the 2010-11 Flood Warning and Response was initiated on 8 February 2011 by the Premier following severe flooding across Victoria in the previous 18 months.
It was led by Mr Neil Comrie AO APM, former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police and current Bushfires Royal Commission Implementation Monitor.
Purpose and aims
The Government is committed to taking the necessary steps to better equip Victoria to deal with severe flooding events that have occurred in the past two years.
The Victorian Government’s Response to the Victorian Floods Review addresses the 31 recommendations directed at, or which have a strong connection to, water in the Review of the 2010-11 Flood Warning and Response final report commissioned by the Premier.
Building on initiatives already in place to reduce the impacts of floods on communities, the plan aims to integrate and align flood planning with other emergency management planning. This will improve coordination at State, regional and local levels.
The review’s recommendations on emergency management will be addressed in the White Paper for Emergency Management – Towards a More Disaster Resilient and Safer Victoria.
How the response was prepared
The Department of Sustainability and Environment coordinated development of the plan/response on behalf of the Government. The Government also consulted Municipal Association Victoria.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment worked with other Government agencies to identify the lead agency responsible for implementing each recommendation and appropriate implementation mechanisms.
The response took into account the Commonwealth Government response released in June 2012.
Actions
The plan commits to a continual review and improvement process through revising the Victorian Flood Management Strategy and the Regional Flood Management Strategy and building capacity and skills in flood intelligence.
Key actions include:
- developing a web-based information system to provide quality information to emergency services and communities about flood risk;
- conducting up to 25 flood risk studies in flood prone communities;
- upgrading flood warning systems;
- improving real-time data collection and delivery systems; and
- long-term framework to allow communities to periodically review their flood warning requirements.
Implementing the plan
Multiple government agencies will help implement the plan including:
- Department of Sustainability and Environment
- State Emergency Service
- Catchment management authorities
- water corporations
- Bureau of Meteorology (Commonwealth Government)
- local councils
- Department of Planning and Community Development
- Melbourne Water
Funding
The Government has already provided $25 million over four years for improvements to flood warning systems and response. Some of these actions have started. The Government will review the progress to ensure all actions are completed. It is important that the Commonwealth Government also increases its funding.
Community input
The Government values the skills and knowledge of regional Victorians and will be providing opportunities for locals to shape flood warning systems in their town and other mitigation options that may be required in their area.