1

Flood Risk Intelligence Flow:

from Catchment Management Authority to Community

Intelligence Flow: From CMA to Community

� Transformation of Flood Data to Intelligence

� Melbourne Water – VICSES Partnership

� Benefits of the Partnership in terms of Intelligence Flow

� Outline the Flood Risk Intelligence Products and Community Benefits

Transforming Data to Intelligence

data information intelligence

Transforming Data to Intelligence

data information intelligence

Melbourne

Water(Flood &

DrainageAuthority)

VICSES Community

2

Transforming Data to Intelligence

DATA: Raw FactsEg. Rainfall Amounts, Flood levels or Terrain heights

INFORMATION: Processed DataEg. AEP Value, Flood Class Level or Flood Modelling

INTELLIGENCE: Interpreted InformationEg. Properties Flooded, Roads Closed or Evacuation Route

PLAN OR DECISION

Melbourne Water – VICSES Partnership

� Partnership formed between Melbourne Water and VICSES (Central Region) in 2008

� Resource allocation for Flood Emergency Planning & Community Education & Resilience outcomes

� Embedding VICSES GIS Officer within Melbourne Water to help facilitate these outcomes

� VICSES now able to focus on Flood Planning & Education in addition to Response

Flood Risk Intelligence Flow

FloodModellers

GIS &

Intelligence

Officer

Hydrologists

Community

Community

SES Officers& Volunteers

FloodInvestigators

EmergencyManagement

Officers

CommunityResilience

Coordinators

OperationsOfficers

IncidentManagement

Team Members

Data Access

� Access to Datasets as they are produced� This cuts the middle man in the data transfer process, reducing time and missed

opportunities

� Ability to combine and validate data to achieve an outcome

SES Request for Assistance

1% AEP Flood Extent

Property Target for Engagement1% AEP Flood Extent

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Purpose & Audience

� Understanding the Emergency Management Sector� The types of intelligence products used before, during and after a flood

� The user groups of these products

� What decisions these products are helping to support

� From that, knowing what data will be useful and how the data should be presented

Misleading representation

Useful representation

Experience Over Statistics

� Community will respond more to Analogies, Stories and relatable places & experiences over figures and statistics1

� Challenge is to translate statistics that are produced via the BoM & CMAs into meaningful intelligence

Anglers Tavern, Maribyrnong

Start of flooding for township

Yogi Bear, Wangaratta

Unofficial & Unintended

Flood Gauge

Historical Flood MarkerHelps the community relate

1Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Planning & Intelligence Products

Municipal Flood Emergency Plans & Maps

Planning & Intelligence Products

Catchment Schematics

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Community Education & Resilience

Local Flood Guides

Community Education & Resilience

Community Engagement Doorknocks

Community Benefits

� VICSES’s access to data helps produce better informed products and programs

� The products and education activities helps the community in turn be better informed about their flood risk

� It’s helping those that collect the data (Melbourne Water) consider what’s important in Emergency Management,

� The usefulness of including a range of scenarios into flood modelling specifications

� It’s helping those who respond and deliver the message (VICSES) to understand hydrology

� Education on flood behavior and terminology (ARIs & AEPs)

� These benefit Melbourne Water & VICSES and as a follow on the community

� Bringing together the agencies involved in flood risk intelligence, making for a smoother flow of more accurate and timely Intelligence to the community

Ross Butler: GIS Officer for VICSES Central Region Ross.Butler@ses.vic.gov.au