New South Wales at the center of heavy flooding
Sydney, the beautiful city of Australia, is often submerged in floods. The state of New South Wales in southeastern Australia, where the city is located, has seen four devastating floods in the past 18 months. Sydneysiders are unable to recover from the impact of floods as geological conditions fuel the increasing climate change. Australia’s floods are not only a concern for locals.. they are a warning to the world..!
Sackville lives in a bathtub..!
New South Wales is the most flood prone area in Australia. The topography of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River, which flows here, prevents the flood from flowing out so quickly. Areas like Windsor, Richmond, Emo Plains, Panrith, Blacktown are prone to flooding by this river. Most of these are surrounded by water like islands. Around 18,000 people live here in a low-lying area called the ‘Sackville Bathtub’. It is located between Richmond and Sackville. This place is severely affected during floods. It also includes the Cumberland Plains of western Sydney. A trough-like area formed as part of a geologic shift that took place over 100 million years is surrounded by steep terrain. From here the Hawkesbury-Nepean River flows down through the narrow, massive sandstone cliffs. Because of this location, the Sackville bathtub did not drain quickly. The Sackville bathtub is fed by about five streams. At the same time, the exits were narrowed. On the other hand, as Sydney is expanding rapidly, constructions are also taking place in flooded areas.
Varagamba Dam which cannot stop the flood..
Even the dam built on the Waragamba, a tributary of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is unable to contain the flood. The New South Wales government has been considering a plan to increase the height of this dam since time immemorial. In fact, up to 60 percent of the rainwater that causes flooding does not make it into the Sackville bathtub from the Hawkesbury-Nepean River. The water which is not going towards Waragamba Dam is entering it. The University of Sydney says the Sackville bathtub is full just in time for the Hawkesbury-Nepean River to flood. Due to this, there is no benefit in raising the height of the dam.
Weather changes..
Scientists say that the Hawkesbury-Nepean River basin has a long period of dry-wet weather. Robin Warner from the University of Sydney has shown a climate cycle of about 100 years based on this. After about 40 to 50 years of dry weather here, small floods start..wet weather and heavy floods occur. That situation will last for another 50 years. During the period of wet weather from 1950 to 1990, New South Wales experienced 12 extreme floods every four years. After that, from 1990 until last year, heavy floods did not come again. Now floods are coming again since 18 months. Seeing this, the University of Sydney predicted last year that there will be a threat of floods for another 20 years.
On the other hand, temperatures are increasing due to climate change. Hot winds increase the humidity in the atmosphere. Most of the meteorological studies have stated that Australia will receive heavy rains.
Hawkesbury is home to heavy floods.
Flooding in excess of 12 meters at Windsor Bridge over the Hawkesbury River is not uncommon. There have been 24 such floods since 1799. However, in recent times, the meteorological department has become proficient in forecasting rains and floods in advance, thus saving people’s lives.
Negative impact on India..
Australia, which plays a major role in coal production, is now teetering on the brink of an electricity crisis. Recently, Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen himself requested the people of New South Wales state to turn off the lights for a while if possible. The demand to do the same in the city of Sydney reflects the situation. At the beginning of this year, there were heavy floods in Queensland and New South Wales in Australia. Coal mines are abundant in these areas. Mines and railway lines supplying coal were severely damaged due to floods. 25 percent of supplies or coal generation capacity has to be kept idle. Now there is a risk of a significant drop in coal production due to floods once again. Due to this, it will become difficult to mobilize enough coal reserves to meet the needs of power plants in India already for electricity generation from June-September.
