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Tsunami in Australia: challenging assumptions, building preparedness

University of Newcastle researchers captured media attention in 2017 with the release of a study modelling tsunami risk for the city of Sydney. The study considered a range of scenarios from minor disruptions through to rare, one-in-5000-year disasters.

It’s possible the study made headlines in part for the novelty factor. This is not to say Australians are flippant about tsunamis; as a nation, we have grieved the traumatic impact of tsunamis in our region. We just don’t think it will happen to us.

However, the science says otherwise. The historical and prehistorical record indicates that tsunamis have affected Australia in the past and could do so again. To Australia’s north and east lie thousands of kilometres of tectonic plate boundaries, where undersea earthquakes could generate tsunamis that reach Australia in a matter of hours. Given half the Australian population lives within 10 kilometres of a coastline – not to mention the scores of interstate and international visitors to our beaches – it’s imperative we take tsunami planning seriously.

That’s why the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) partnered with the Australian Tsunami Advisory Group (ATAG) to revise and refresh national guidance for tsunami emergency planning in Australia. ATAG is the leading national group for tsunami capability development, bringing together the expertise of policymakers, scientists and emergency services practitioners from around Australia.

The review produced the Tsunami Emergency Planning in Australia Handbook, an authoritative resource for emergency managers, local and state governments, port authorities and commercial operators in coastal areas. Replacing its 2010 predecessor, Manual 46: Tsunami Emergency Planning in Australia, the handbook was published on 5 November 2018 to mark the United Nations World Tsunami Awareness Day.

In clear, accessible language, the handbook outlines the causes and characteristics of tsunamis, separating fact from fiction and highlighting key terms. It introduces planners to both ‘Marine Threat’ and ‘Land Inundation Threat’ – key categories in the tsunami warnings framework – and explores the corresponding planning considerations for coastal communities as well as more transitory ‘maritime’ communities – including fishers, boaters and swimmers. Maritime communities also encompass a range of commercial and government activities, including offshore oil and gas enterprises, military exercises and tourism. The handbook steps users through the responsibilities, processes and warning types that comprise the Australian Tsunami Warning System that was established by the Australian Government after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

ATAG has actively contributed to the management of tsunami risk by promoting research, knowledge management and education. In 2018, ATAG also partnered with AIDR to develop the Tsunami hazard modelling guidelines that represent the most up-to-date view of tsunami hazard nationally. A key companion to the revised handbook, the guidelines present a principles-based approach to developing tsunami hazard information for different purposes; from emergency management to infrastructure development and insurance. The guidelines don’t dictate the use of a particular software; they ask questions to support cooperative approaches between scientists and end users.

As for the handbook, stakeholder consultation was key to the development of the Tsunami hazard modelling guidelines. Geoscience Australia, an ATAG member, led the process in partnership with public and private sector representatives and with Commonwealth funding support through Emergency Management Australia.

The guidelines emerged from a community-driven development process that engaged different end users and recognised the impact of a range of factors on modelling approaches and decisions (such as the use case and available data). A workshop held in Canberra in 2017 was a key step, bringing together tsunami modelling experts from government, industry and academia.

The handbook and companion guidelines are complimented by the Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment from Geoscience Australia. This resource informs local tsunami inundation modelling, which feeds into evacuation planning and community safety.

The Tsunami handbook is also supported by Tsunami: The Ultimate Guide – an online learning resource developed collaboratively by ATAG and led by Surf Life Saving Australia. The guide raises tsunami awareness through the education of school-aged children and achieved a highly commended award in the 2014 Resilient Australia Awards.

The Tsunami Emergency Planning in Australia Handbook and the suite of companion resources is part of the Australian Disaster Resilience Handbook Collection. The Handbook Collection represents nationally agreed principles on a range of salient disaster resilience themes; supporting organisations across sectors to adopt best-practice approaches aligned to national policy.

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Identification info

Date (Creation)
2019-01-01
Date (Publication)
2020-08-12T06:06:17
Citation identifier
ga-dataSetURI/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/service/ga/126051

Cited responsible party
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Author

Lamont, A.

Author

Sexton, J.

Purpose

GA is a member of the Australian Tsunami Advisory Group and is co-secretariat. As a result, GA had a significant contribution in the update of the Tsunami Handbook and led the development of the Tsunami Hazard Modelling Guidelines that are a companion document to the Tsunami Handbook. These products were released formally on World Tsunami Awareness Day in 2018 (5 Nov). These products are managed by the Australian Institute of Disaster Resilience and they are part of the team that manages the Australian Journal of Emergency Management. The January 2019 issue has a focus on tsunami and given the release of these products, AIDR and GA have co-authored a feature article for this issue.

Status
Final
Point of contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Point of contact

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Voice
Point of contact

Davies, G.

Spatial Division Internal Contact
Resource provider

Place, Space and Communities Division

External Contact
Spatial representation type
Topic category
  • Geoscientific information

Extent

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N
S
E
W


Maintenance and update frequency
As needed

Resource format

Title

Administration to complete

Edition

Administration to complete

Resource format

Title

Product data repository: Various Formats

Website

Data Store directory containing the digital product files

Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes

theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
  • EARTH SCIENCES

Theme
  • tsunami

Keywords
  • hazard

Keywords
  • Published_External

Resource constraints

Title

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

Alternate title

CC-BY

Edition

4.0

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License

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Unclassified
Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8

Distribution Information

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Distributor

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Voice
OnLine resource

Download the article (pdf) [534 KB]

Download the article (pdf) [534 KB]

Distribution format
  • pdf

Resource lineage

Statement

GA is a member of the Australian Tsunami Advisory Group and is co-secretariat. As a result, GA had a significant contribution in the update of the Tsunami Handbook and led the development of the Tsunami Hazard Modelling Guidelines that are a companion document to the Tsunami Handbook. These products were released formally on World Tsunami Awareness Day in 2018 (5 Nov). These products are managed by the Australian Institute of Disaster Resilience and they are part of the team that manages the Australian Journal of Emergency Management. The January 2019 issue has a focus on tsunami and given the release of these products, AIDR and GA have co-authored a feature article for this issue.

The Handbook and Guidelines are available at https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/tsunami-planning-handbook/ and the Australian Journal of Emergency Management https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/collections/australian-journal-of-emergency-management/

Also Ref HPE 2018/1367

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Davies, G.

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GA Publication: Article

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https://ecat.ga.gov.au:8080/geonetwork/srv/eng//metadata/add5bc51-dd4d-408c-8c1b-deebaacf6efe

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Date info (Creation)
2018-05-04T03:37:56
Date info (Revision)
2018-05-04T03:38:12

Metadata standard

Title

AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-3 (Draft Schemas 2015)

Edition date
2015-07-01T00:00:00
Title

Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

Edition

Version 2.0, April 2015

 
 

Spatial extent

N
S
E
W


Keywords

hazard tsunami
theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
EARTH SCIENCES

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