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Oz coastline popular with Brit expats may be hit by massive tsunami
| Published: | 17 Nov at 6 PM |
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Brit expats warned global warming could trigger a massive tsunami along the east coast of Australia.
The east coast of the continent of Australia has always been a major destination for expats, with a good percentage of the hundreds of thousands of Britons in Oz happily settled in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. A recent study of the effects of global warming on sea levels and weather has revealed the entire region is at risk of a massive tsunami capable of wiping out the coastal communities and killing some 6.5 million people.
The research revealed a one in five chance of a devastating wave some time within the next generation’s lives, leaving present-day Brits unconcerned unless the scientists get it wrong yet again. Even so, the region is also at risk of generalised flooding, extreme heat, wildfires and cyclones, creating the possibility that, should the tsunami finally appear, there will be no-one left to be affected. The bright spark in the study is that the risk of earthquakes is very, very low.
In a more practical move, the study notes tsunami impacts and other natural disasters should be factored into new developments in the region as well as projects for coastal activities. It states decisions on project design and planning as well as methods of construction deliberately designed to withstand massive walls of fast-moving water should be uppermost in city developers’ plans for the future. Qualified experts should be consulted at every level of development, and early warning systems need to be installed.
The only tsunami event over the past decade took place in 2010, and involved a 42cm wave resulting from an earthquake off the coast of Chile. Some three years earlier, one area was put on watch after an undersea earthquake hit close by the Solomon Islands. Nothing happened, but it has to be said that unusually destructive natural disasters such as hurricanes, sizeable earthquakes, extreme temperatures and suchlike are becoming more common every year.
Stable, predictable weather patterns established for generations seem to be breaking down, with an increase in flooding, forest fires and drought. Whether or not one believes in man-made global warming, it’s sensible to take precautions even if the worst scenario seems unlikely at present.
The east coast of the continent of Australia has always been a major destination for expats, with a good percentage of the hundreds of thousands of Britons in Oz happily settled in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. A recent study of the effects of global warming on sea levels and weather has revealed the entire region is at risk of a massive tsunami capable of wiping out the coastal communities and killing some 6.5 million people.
The research revealed a one in five chance of a devastating wave some time within the next generation’s lives, leaving present-day Brits unconcerned unless the scientists get it wrong yet again. Even so, the region is also at risk of generalised flooding, extreme heat, wildfires and cyclones, creating the possibility that, should the tsunami finally appear, there will be no-one left to be affected. The bright spark in the study is that the risk of earthquakes is very, very low.
In a more practical move, the study notes tsunami impacts and other natural disasters should be factored into new developments in the region as well as projects for coastal activities. It states decisions on project design and planning as well as methods of construction deliberately designed to withstand massive walls of fast-moving water should be uppermost in city developers’ plans for the future. Qualified experts should be consulted at every level of development, and early warning systems need to be installed.
The only tsunami event over the past decade took place in 2010, and involved a 42cm wave resulting from an earthquake off the coast of Chile. Some three years earlier, one area was put on watch after an undersea earthquake hit close by the Solomon Islands. Nothing happened, but it has to be said that unusually destructive natural disasters such as hurricanes, sizeable earthquakes, extreme temperatures and suchlike are becoming more common every year.
Stable, predictable weather patterns established for generations seem to be breaking down, with an increase in flooding, forest fires and drought. Whether or not one believes in man-made global warming, it’s sensible to take precautions even if the worst scenario seems unlikely at present.
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