Resilience, vulnerability and adaptive capacity of an inland rural town prone to flooding: a climate change adaptation case study of Charleville, Queensland, Australia
Article
Article Title | Resilience, vulnerability and adaptive capacity of an inland rural town prone to flooding: a climate change adaptation case study of Charleville, Queensland, Australia |
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ERA Journal ID | 1986 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Keogh, Diane U. (Author), Apan, Armando (Author), Mushtaq, Shahbaz (Author), King, David (Author) and Thomas, Melanie (Author) |
Journal Title | Natural Hazards |
Journal Citation | 59 (2), pp. 699-723 |
Number of Pages | 25 |
Year | 2011 |
Publisher | Springer |
Place of Publication | Netherlands |
ISSN | 0921-030X |
1573-0840 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-9791-y |
Web Address (URL) | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-011-9791-y |
Abstract | Australia is currently experiencing climate change effects in the form of higher temperatures and more frequent extreme events, such as floods. Floods are its costliest form of natural disaster accounting for losses estimated at over $300 million per annum. Charleville was found to be staunchly resilient, with high levels of organisation and cooperation, and well-developed and functioning social and institutional networks. The community is committed to remaining in the town despite the prospect of continued future flooding. Its main vulnerabilities included low levels of insurance cover (32% residents, 43% businesses had cover) and limited monitoring data to warn of impending flooding. Detailed flood modelling and additional river height gauging stations are needed to enable more targeted evacuations. Further mitigation works (eg., investigate desilting Bradley’s Gully and carry out an engineering assessment) and more affordable insurance products are needed. Regular information on how residents can prepare for floods and the roles different organisations play are suggested. A key finding was that residents believe they have a personal responsibility for preparation and personal mitigation activities, and these activities contribute substantially to Charleville’s ability to respond to and cope with flood events. More research into the psychological impacts of floods is recommended. Charleville is a valuable representation of climate change adaptation and how communities facing natural disasters should organise and operate. |
Keywords | adaptive capacity; Charleville; climate change adaptation; flood; resilience; vulnerability |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 441003. Rural sociology |
380119. Welfare economics | |
440704. Environment policy | |
Public Notes | File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author. |
Byline Affiliations | Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments |
James Cook University | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q0967/resilience-vulnerability-and-adaptive-capacity-of-an-inland-rural-town-prone-to-flooding-a-climate-change-adaptation-case-study-of-charleville-queensland-australia
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