Floods occur when water covers land which is normally dry. Floods in Australia range from localised flash flooding as a result of thunderstorms, to more widespread flooding following heavy rain over the catchment areas of river systems. Flooding is also a regular seasonal phenomenon in Northern Australia. Australian towns were built on floodplains despite warnings from local Aborigines. Nyngan (meaning flood in its local Aboriginal language) was severely flooded on 23 April 1990.
Gundagai was rebuilt on a new site after a flood in 1852 wiped out 71 buildings, and 89 of the town's 250 inhabitants died. More people would have perished were it not for the heroism of local Aborigine Yarri of the Wiradjuri people and his mate Jackie, who saved more than 40 people using a simple bark canoe.
Recently, town councils and shires have started mapping the 100-year flood areas so that the extent of the flood plain can be mapped for town planning, building regulations and zoning for land use to avoid building on flood-prone areas. Regional flood mitigation programs have been initiated by the Australian Government to work with state and territory governments.
North eastern Tasmania, 1929
In April 1929, 22 people died when heavy rain caused severe flooding in the north east of Tasmania. In addition, 14 people died when the Briseis Dam on the Cascade River gave way, inundating the town of Derby. A further eight people (six from one family) were drowned near Ulverstone when a truck crashed into a flooded river.
Rain commenced late on 3 April and, in three days, up to 500mm fell over the high country of the northeast, and over a smaller area south of the Burnie/Ulverstone area. The Briseis Dam on the Cascade River crumbled, and the resulting torrent, carrying thousands of tons of trees, rocks and gravel, overwhelmed houses and offices, with 14 deaths. Over 1,000 houses in Launceston were inundated, and most other north coastal rivers were heavily flooded.
Bureau of Meteorology, A hundred years of science and service, 2001, p.16.
