ForeCast in QLD | Floodmapp

ForeCast
in Queensland

Rapid, hyper-local flood impact predictions helped emergency managers and communities prepare and ultimately improve public safety.

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Background

During a flood event in March 2021 in the Logan Albert Catchment (Queensland), FloodMapp worked with the State Disaster Centre (SDCC) through Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) to rapidly implement FloodMapp ForeCast for emergency use.

Heavy intensity rainfall (up to 509 mm) led to a major flood being forecasted for the Logan River. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued a major flood warning for the Logan Albert River Basin.

At the time the warning was issued, the Logan River at the town of Beaudesert was at 7.32 metres and rising.

The Problem

Heavy intensity rainfall (up to 509 mm) led to a major flood being forecasted for the Logan River. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued a major flood warning for the Logan Albert River Basin.

At the time the warning was issued, the Logan River at the town of Beaudesert was at 7.32 metres and rising.

The Solution

Using FloodMapp ForeCast, powered by DASH, the FloodMapp team not only predicted that the river-peak at an upper limit of 12.5 meters, but could also produce an inundation map. The forecast model was developed and delivered to QFES emergency operations planners within 75 minutes of the request.

ForeCast was rapidly ingested into QFES ArcGIS online portal as a digital map. The SDCC was able to overlay the FloodMapp ForeCast maps with their internal population and assets datasets to provide situational awareness of the potential flood impact to people, property, and critical infrastructure. It also provided a shared common operating picture with the other agencies in the Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements (QDMA).

The Outcome

With the speed and level of accuracy FloodMapp was able to offer, QFES and Queensland Police Service (QPS) were able to rapidly pinpoint impacted properties and plan highly targeted, safe, and timely evacuations and community messaging.

Queensland Police Service was able to print a list of properties and begin evacuations, to keep the community safe. Beaudesert State High School students were sent home before they had been trapped by the flood waters.

Queensland Reconstruction Authority was able to access the Common Operating Picture through the same portal. With this data, QRA was able to undertake rapid spatial analytics to answer strategic level questions from the Queensland Premier's office. This data enabled all staff at the strategic, operational and tactical levels to maintain real-time situational awareness before, during, and after the flood.

“What FloodMapp produced was really valuable and when matched with QFES mapping technology meant that disaster management agencies could immediately identify at risk properties. It also allowed us to print a list of properties and begin doorknocking in plenty of time to allow residents to prepare for the possible flood.”