REC324-4320

Knowledge resources to support flood management: That, to provide more accurate and complete data for flood threat identification, warning and modelling systems, Government through the proposed new NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) work with the Australian Government to:
• improve the rain and river gauge network by:
— implementing the Bureau’s proposed New Policy Proposal for rain and river gauges in NSW
— working to transfer ownership and maintenance responsibility for as many of the river and rain gauges as possible in NSW to the Bureau of Meteorology
— upgrading and ensuring there is a maintenance program across NSW for those gauges that remain in state and local government ownership
• upgrade radar capability in NSW to ensure overlapping coverage and some redundancy, through upgrades to existing fixed radars, and investment in new fixed and mobile radars.
Also that the Government through the NSWRA:
• ensure that all relevant state entities and local councils implement the Bureau flash flooding guidelines for all watercourses for which they have flood warning responsibility, drawing on the state’s significant expertise in remote sensing to implement effective monitoring and warning systems that send warnings to all residents and businesses in affected areas
• make real-time flood warnings and information – both raw information from gauges and processed information from models – available publicly via a smartphone app (ideally part of a state disaster information app) that also allows citizens to provide information during a flood to help authorities and community. This information could include flood imagery and local knowledge observations in the lead into, during, and immediately after flood events.