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Extreme water levels, waves and coastal impacts during a severe tropical cyclone in northeastern Australia: a case study for cross-sector data sharing

Authors :
T. R. Mortlock
D. Metters
J. Soderholm
J. Maher
S. B. Lee
G. Boughton
N. Stewart
E. Zavadil
I. D. Goodwin
Source :
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol 18, Pp 2603-2623 (2018)
Publication Year :
2018
Publisher :
Copernicus Publications, 2018.

Abstract

Severe tropical cyclone (TC) Debbie made landfall on the northern Queensland coast of Australia on 27 March 2017 after crossing the Great Barrier Reef as a slow-moving Category 4 system. Groups from industry, government and academia collected coastal hazard and impact data before, during and after the event and shared these data to produce a holistic picture of TC Debbie at the coast. Results showed the still water level exceeded the highest astronomical tide by almost a metre. Waves added a further 16 % to water levels along the open coast, and were probably unprecedented for this area since monitoring began. In most places, coastal barriers were not breached and as a result there was net offshore sand transport. If landfall had occurred 2 h earlier with the high tide, widespread inundation and overwash would have ensued. This paper provides a case study of effective cross-sector data sharing in a natural hazard context. It advocates for a shared information platform for coastal extremes in Australia to help improve the understanding and prediction of TC-related coastal hazards in the future.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
15618633 and 16849981
Volume :
18
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.376080e409e74b908974c89311044a93
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2603-2018