Writer
Chas Keys
Chas Keys is a former academic and emergency management practitioner. He was the Deputy Director General of the New South Wales State Emergency Service from 1997 to 2004.
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Climate change, weather elements and natural disasters: what links?
Over the past couple of years, the idea that humanly-created climate change is real and worrying has become increasingly accepted in Australia. Few scientists now argue the opposite point of view, the commentariat has largely followed suit even News Corp’s opposition is no longer a matter of policy and polls suggest that scepticism and denialism Continue reading »
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The independent New South Wales flood inquiry has landed
The much-awaited report of the Independent NSW Flood Inquiry has been released. Continue reading »
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Raising Warragamba Dam is not the best flood mitigation strategy, Premier
Last week, New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said that raising Warragamba Dam was the “best strategy” for managing the flood problem in the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley. It is not. It is not even a good strategy, or close to one. Continue reading »
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The ‘100-year flood’ and the floor levels of houses
The so-called ‘100-year’ (or 1% Annual Exceedence Probability) flood has two main uses in the public domain in Australia. Both are problematic, though not intentionally so on the part of those whose professional activities are bound by its use. Continue reading »
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The flood problem, immigration and population growth
The management of weather-related emergency situations like floods is the responsibility of the states. But the policies and activities of the Commonwealth government can make big differences to the impacts of floods, either for better or for worse. This is clearly demonstrated via immigration policy and its impact on population growth. Continue reading »
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Are we approaching a consensus on the need to manage flooding differently?
It is possible that recent events related to flooding in New South Wales are galvanising a consensus on how we manage the threats floods pose. If that is so, we are on the verge of a phase shift in our management of floods. Continue reading »
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Another word on the sadness and madness of the language of the ‘one-in-100-years’ flood
Not even the Premier of New South Wales understands the meaning of the term the ‘one-in-100-years’ flood. Nor does the Prime Minister, who this week repeated the Premier’s misguided words on it. Continue reading »
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NSW awaits a momentous decision on housing development on floodplains
When it comes to the management of weather-related disasters like floods, governments can be relied upon to act in only two circumstances – catastrophe or repetition. Continue reading »
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Flood misunderstanding, miscommunication, extremes and records
Last Monday, a couple spoke to an ABC television reporter on the back steps of their home on the edge of Wollongong’s Lake Illawarra. They were confident that the flood they could see in front of them would not rise beyond the level it had reached. After all, they’d been living there for 19 years Continue reading »
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Climate change: Scott Morrison’s achilles heel
Scott Morrison has a problem with climate change which reflects his style of governing. Continue reading »
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Will central Lismore be abandoned after yet another flood.
Now that the floodwaters have hopefully gone and communities are focusing on recovery, the question of ‘relocation’ has become central in discussions about the future. Continue reading »
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A ten-point plan for managing floods in Australia
All flood crises are more or less wasted, and the ones we have just experienced in New South Wales and Queensland will probably be no different. Continue reading »
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The problem on the floodplain where we should not be building.
After Lismore’s horrific flood, we simply must reconsider our approach to development on floodplains. Continue reading »
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Grace Tame stayed true to her cause and her self in meeting an unhelpful PM
Tame’s critics came from the right, and they attacked their target’s alleged rudeness rather than dealing with the legitimacy of her approach. Continue reading »
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Cricket cannot afford to go back to the bad old days of abuse
Bored by the lack of an Ashes contest, past players are creating mischief by calling for a return to sledging. These calls must be rejected. Continue reading »
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Raise Warragamba dam, raise the risk to the environment
More housing, less habitat. More extinctions, less vegetation. With the raising of Australia’s largest urban water supply dam, Sydney would be further primed to emulate the flood disasters of Brisbane. Continue reading »
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The political problem of defining “flood prone”
The words ‘flood’ and prone’ are simple enough to comprehend, but when they are put next to each other in a sentence they can quickly become problematic. Continue reading »
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Alarming inconsistency: NSW Government Ministers on development in flood-prone areas
The floods on the eastward-flowing rivers of New South Wales have abated, but when they were at their height there were some alarming differences between state government ministers on the important matter of development on the floodplains of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system. Continue reading »
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The ‘levee paradox’: why has development in floodplains exploded?
In March we were reminded that flooding is a problem in Australia. It is a problem partly because of the way we accommodate our growing population on floodplains. Continue reading »
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The meaning of the word ‘floodplain’ – and the consequences of building on one
One of the great challenges of city building is building sustainably. Many of our towns and cities are built at least in part on floodplains, which are by definition problematic as places on which to build. Continue reading »
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Re-thinking flood mitigation and development, especially in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley
The rain has gone, the floods on the eastward-flowing rivers are receding in Queensland and New South Wales and the focus has shifted from response to recovery. But there’s another important matter which needs to be addressed mitigation, or the means by which we can reduce the impacts of future flooding. Let’s look at this Continue reading »
