The extreme floods which devastated Spain are hitting more often. Is Australia ready for the next one?

The Environment Institute’s Professor Seth Westra has co-authored an article in The Conversation that reveals some startling figures about the risk of extreme flooding in Australia.

The recent catastrophic floods in the Valencia region of Spain have starkly highlighted the growing risks posed by climate change. Torrential rains, with some areas experiencing an entire year’s worth of rainfall in a single day, led to sudden and deadly floods. Over 200 lives have been lost, and the damage to infrastructure has been devastating. Scientific analysis reveals that such extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent, with rainfall extremes now occurring twice as often as they did 75 years ago, and the intensity of these storms has increased by around 12%.

The threat of extreme floods is not confined to Spain. Australia, for example, has already warmed by 1.5°C since records began in 1910, and in recent years, the country has faced devastating floods, including those in New South Wales and Queensland. The floods in northern New South Wales in 2022 caused widespread damage and claimed 24 lives, marking the most expensive natural disaster in Australian history, with damages totaling A$5.65 billion.

The question, then, is whether countries are adequately prepared for these more frequent and intense floods. While Australia has updated its flood design guidelines to account for climate change, current infrastructure—roads, bridges, stormwater systems—was not built to withstand the increased intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events. Similarly, flood planning levels used to determine where buildings can be constructed have not kept pace with the evolving flood risk.

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