When it comes to flooding, Wauchope has 600 flood-prone properties and our electorate, Lyne, is number 19 in the top 20 in the country.
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North Queensland's federal seat of Herbert (which includes Townsville) is Australia's most flood-prone electorate, according to the latest ground-breaking Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) research.
The analysis reveals that four of the 20 most flood-affected federal electorates are in New South Wales. The other 16 are in Queensland. There are an estimated 16,041 land parcels with flood exposure in the federal seat of Lyne.
The primary locations with more than 250 flood prone properties include:
Taree (2171), Forster (1735), Harrington (1564), Wingham (998), Tuncurry (970), Tea Gardens (816), Dungog (802), Lorne (625), North Haven (620), Wauchope (596), Clarence Town (369), Hawks Nest (336), Tinonee (303) and Cundletown (257).
There are a further 100 townships with less than 250 land parcels exposed.
The SES says flooding can happen at any time, with little warning, but you can prepare and recover faster. Every home and business should have an emergency kit including:
- radio
- torch
- spare batteries
- First Aid kit
- gloves
- important documents
- food
- water
- prescriptions and medications
- copy of your emergency plan
- strong shoes
- clothing for at least three days
- requirements for pets
- mobile phone and charger
- mementoes and valuables
STAYING SAFE IN A FLOOD
- Never drive, ride or walk through floodwater
- Never allow children to play in or near floodwater
- Stay away from drains, culverts and waterways
- Stay well clear of fallen trees, power lines and damaged buildings
- If evacuated, do not return until it is safe to do so
- Follow the advice of the authorities
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ICA General Manager of Risk and Disaster Planning Karl Sullivan said the research highlighted the importance of understanding flood risk. He said it was a wake-up call to all levels of government about the urgent need to prioritise investments in flood mitigation.
Mr Sullivan said each electorate contained locations that had a significant number of land parcels exposed to flood probabilities ranging from the most frequent to the largest possible flood.
"The ICA has analysed official flood data, collated from governments across Australia for the industry's National Flood information Database, and has matched it against federal electoral boundaries for ease of comparison," Mr Sullivan said.
"Flood risk is one key reason why many householders and businesses in these electorates may pay high insurance premiums. With a NSW election due this weekend, and a Federal election due in May, it's time voters asked their local MPs and other candidates one simple yet essential question: 'What are you planning to do to lower our flood risk?' "
Mr Sullivan said: "South Australia has been unable to provide comprehensive flood data over the past decade for analysis and has not been included in this report.
"Estimates of flood exposure in that state indicates that if quality data were made available by the South Australian Government the federal electorates of Hindmarsh, Sturt and Adelaide could rank in the top 20."
Mr Sullivan said each of the top 20 electorates had experienced catastrophic flooding over the past decade, and many had the double-whammy of being struck by cyclones.
"Most recently, Townsville in Herbert was hit with one of the worst floods in living memory, with insurance losses of $1.04 billion from 25,664 claims," he said.
"Some communities within these federal electorates are governed by local councils with comprehensive flood-risk mitigation programs. Others may lack the capacity and funding to carry out the required work.
"Mitigation works should be treated as nation-building infrastructure projects, on par with highways, rail and bridges. When mitigation is in place it protects communities, has a substantial impact on the economy and productivity, and helps prevent loss of life.
"Unfortunately, government commitments to investing in mitigation infrastructure or other flood projects has been lacking for many decades.
"The Insurance Council has long called for implementation of the Productivity Commission's recommendation that the Commonwealth invest $200 million a year in mitigation and resilience, matched by state and territory governments."
Mr Sullivan said the ICA was well placed to help governments with information about the impact mitigation would have on insurance premiums.
"The insurance market has demonstrated it is prepared to insure all properties in flood-prone areas, but cover is risk rated. Property owners with the highest risks typically face the highest premiums. Where those risks are reduced or removed, the market has followed suit with lower premiums," he said.
"The ICA hopes governments heed the lessons from the United States and other countries, where programs to subsidise premiums through pooled arrangements have failed to prevent flood tragedies, have encouraged inappropriate development and have exposed taxpayers to extraordinary levels of permanent debt."
For more information on Australia's most flood-prone electorates, visit: https://disasters.org.au/top20floodproneelectorates
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