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| 2016 Tasmanian floods | |
|---|---|
| Name | 2016 Tasmanian floods |
| Caption | Flooding in northern Tasmania, April 2016 |
| Date | April 2016 |
| Affected | Tasmania, Australia |
| Damages | A$100–200 million (est.) |
| Areas | Launceston, Tamar Valley, North West Tasmania, West Tamar, Meander Valley |
2016 Tasmanian floods were a major hydrological disaster that struck the Australian island of Tasmania in April 2016. Torrential rainfall from an intense east coast low and associated frontal systems produced widespread riverine and flash flooding, causing substantial damage to infrastructure, agriculture and heritage in urban and rural areas. The event prompted large-scale emergency response by the Tasmanian State Emergency Service, Australian Defence Force and multiple volunteer organisations, and led to formal inquiries and reviews into flood management, land use planning and disaster preparedness.
Tasmania, an island state of Australia, has a temperate maritime climate influenced by the Southern Ocean and the Roaring Forties. Key population centres such as Hobart, Launceston, and regional towns in the Tamar Valley and North West Tasmania lie along flood-prone river systems including the Tamar River, South Esk River, and Meander River. Historical flood events such as the 1929 Tasmanian floods, the 1967 Tasmanian bushfires aftermath hydrological responses, and the 2011 Queensland floods provided context for Tasmanian flood mitigation debates involving agencies like the Tasmanian Government, the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia), and the Tasmanian State Emergency Service.
The flooding was driven by an intense extratropical cyclone and an east coast low that developed off the coast of Victoria (Australia) and tracked south of Tasmania, interacting with a blocking high near the Great Australian Bight. Persistent moisture influx from the Tasman Sea enhanced precipitation when the system's cold front crossed Tasmania, producing orographic enhancement over the Central Highlands (Tasmania) and catchments feeding the Tamar River. Forecasters at the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) issued severe weather warnings, while research outputs from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and climatologists studying Southern Annular Mode variability contextualised the event within interannual variability influenced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation and shifting mid-latitude storm tracks.
The floods inundated suburbs of Launceston, including low-lying areas near the Tamar River, and affected towns across the Northern Tasmania and North West Tasmania regions. Infrastructure damage included collapsed bridges, washed-out roads on arteries such as the Bass Highway, and disrupted rail corridors used by the Tasmanian Rail Network. Utilities managed by entities like TasNetworks experienced outages, and cultural heritage sites including historic buildings listed by Heritage Tasmania sustained water damage. Agricultural losses hit dairy farms in the Meander Valley and cropping enterprises in the North West, while businesses in flood-affected commercial precincts claimed losses insured through companies such as Insurance Council of Australia members. The event caused at least one confirmed fatality and insured and uninsured economic losses were later estimated at hundreds of millions of Australian dollars.
Responding agencies coordinated through the Tasmanian State Emergency Service (SES) and state control centres, assisted by the Australian Defence Force under Australian Government arrangements and volunteer organisations like Australian Red Cross and St John Ambulance Australia. Evacuations were ordered for suburbs and towns threatened by rising waters near the South Esk River and tributaries in Meander Valley, with evacuation centres established at facilities managed by local councils including City of Launceston and the West Tamar Council. Road closures were enforced by the Tasmania Police, and search and rescue operations employed SES swift-water teams, Army engineers from units of the Australian Army, and aerial reconnaissance using aircraft coordinated with the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) forecasts.
Post-flood recovery involved damage assessment by state agencies, cleanup by council crews and volunteer groups, and restoration of essential services through partnerships with organisations such as TasNetworks and the Australian Energy Market Operator. Government relief grants and concessional loans were made available via Tasmanian state programs and coordination with the Australian Government disaster recovery funding arrangements. Reconstruction of transport infrastructure engaged contractors experienced from projects like the Basslink maintenance and regional roadworks funded through joint state–federal grants. Community support and mental health assistance were provided by Beyond Blue affiliates and local health services, while heritage conservation efforts involved Heritage Tasmania and private conservation architects.
In the aftermath, parliamentary and independent reviews examined floodplain mapping, land use planning, and the effectiveness of early warning systems, involving stakeholders such as the Tasmanian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia), and local councils. Recommendations emphasised updating flood maps, integrating climate change projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change into infrastructure design standards, enhancing coordination under the National Emergency Management Plan, and improving community education via partnerships with organisations like the Australian Red Cross and the State Emergency Service (Australia). The reviews influenced subsequent policy changes in Tasmanian planning schemes, funding for flood mitigation works, and research collaborations with institutions including the University of Tasmania and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
Category:Floods in Australia Category:2016 natural disasters in Australia