GIS data, before and after: Natural hazard risk research following Tropical Cyclone Larry
In March 2006, Tropical Cyclone (TC) Larry hit the far north-east coast of Queensland with devastating affects on coastal farming and agricultural communities. Banana and other crops grown in these areas were destroyed and many houses and buildings suffered significant damage. Communities faced massive unemployment and social disruption.
Geoscience Australia (GA) is a government agency responsible for producing geoscientific information relating to the exploration of natural resources, management of the environment and safety of Australian communities and critical infrastructure. This is used by federal, state and local governments to aid in their decision making. As part of its decision making support, GA produces risk models to help communities understand potential impacts from natural hazards such as cyclones, earthquakes and tsunami.
GA responded to TC Larry by dispatching a number of fieldwork teams whose role was to collect data and information to help better understand the impact of this natural hazard event and why towns and communities were affected as they were. Data and information collected included commercial and residential building data, socio-economic information on impacts to businesses and the community and data to ground truth remote sensing analyses to determine the extent of damage to fruit crops.
This presentation will discuss:
• the process of collecting, modifying and preparing data and systems for TC Larry fieldwork within GA;
• data and information gathered while in the field and methods used;
• how the collected information is used to develop risk models and better understanding the impact of a cyclone and other natural hazards on communities; and
• suggestions for future improvements following lessons learned with the preparation of data and data collection processes used for TC Larry.