February QM Meeting Wrap Up


25th February 2022

February 17 saw another strongly supported FMA Quarterly Meeting and Workshop in our now familiar online format. Described by some as a “mini conference”, as well as reports from FMA’s Executive Committee we packed in updates from seven state and territory agencies, plus the Bureau of Meteorology.

The BoM’s Alex Clifton explained the annual climate statement http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/aus, and told us that Australia experienced its wettest November on record. There were continuous flood operations from November to February, and a total of 750 flood warnings were issued for Queensland, and 1,074 for NSW and ACT.

Jess Carey introduced two new services from the BoM:
The Australian Water Outlook – providing historical data, forecasts and projections for precipitation, soil moisture, runoff and evapotranspiration:  https://awo.bom.gov.au

Australian Water Data Service – providing water data, spatial metadata and maps: https://portal.wsapi.cloud.bom.gov.au/arcgis/apps/sites/#/australian-water-data-service

The Insurance Council of Australia’s Liam Walter congratulated the BoM on its October Seasonal Outlook which he said had been verified by the flood and storm claims experience.

He said the ICA considers there are too many homes are in direct line of flood, fire and cyclone, or at risk of actions of the sea, and that land use planning is one of the streams of work that collectively will build a more resilient Australia.

“And a resilient Australia is an insurable Australia”.

Land Use Planning Director Paul Grech and Communications Director Sue Ribbons completed the day with their Workshop on the draft FMA Climate Change Policy Position. 

Thank you to panel members Louise Collier (Rhelm), Shannon Haines (Moreton Bay Regional Council) and Peter Sheath (Central Coast Council) for the wealth of practical information you contributed to the discussion. 

The completed Policy will be provided for endorsement to the FMA AGM at the National Conference in May.
 

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