Extreme weather and coastal hazards - a statement on research priorities for natural hazards emergency management in Australia

Throughout 2015-2017, emergency service agencies around Australia participated in workshops hosted by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC to consider the major issues in natural hazards emergency management.

This publication on extreme weather and coastal hazards summarises the outcomes of one of these workshops and poses questions as a guide for a national research agenda in natural hazard emergency management.

More than 85 per cent of Australia’s population lives within 50 km of the coastline. Coastal proximity not only increases exposure to extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, but also the additional hazards of storm surges, extreme waves, dangerous marine weather and coastal erosion. The impacts of these events can be further compounded by riverine flooding and infrastructure development pressure.

• Advances in meteorology have substantially improved our ability to mitigate extreme weather and coastal hazards. These advances include:
• more accurate predictions from higher-resolution models and ensemble systems
• more comprehensive data from satellites and radars
• more sophisticated understanding of various phenomena
• better means of extracting information from our forecast support systems to generate useful products and services for vulnerable communities.

Extreme weather can be any weather event that includes strong winds, heavy or prolonged rain, high temperatures, extreme fire weather, large hail, cold outbreaks and drought. However, the term is most commonly used when the weather causes a significant impact; either damage to the natural and built environments, loss of life, significant injuries, or economic loss.

Most weather that causes significant impact is considered extreme because natural and man-made systems have led to more common environmental conditions, lessening the impact. Extreme weather can be the result of many different weather systems, including tropical cyclones, cold fronts and wind changes, severe thunderstorms, and east coast lows.

• Despite progress, further work is required to meet the future challenges of:
• increasing and mobile populations, especially in vulnerable locations
• ongoing investment in infrastructure by government and industry
• heightened community expectations
• the effects of climate change and sea level rise.

Opportunities to better mitigate the numerous hazards associated with a particular event will be underpinned by advances in scientific understanding, technology, and service provision. While many of these advances apply to weather and ocean prediction as a whole, specific attention is needed to ensure value is maximised when applied specifically to the most damaging and severe events.