The Daily Examiner,24 November 2009
In the face of Clarence Valley Council's silence on the Rudd Government's recent report Climate Change Risks to Australia's Coasts, The Daily Examiner's Erin Brady lays the facts before Clarence Valley communities in Sea level rise threatens our homes:
IF sea levels rise 1.1 metres by 2100, large parts of the Clarence Valley could be under water and towns may have to be relocated.
It sounds like a doomsday prediction, but according to a report released this month by the Department of Climate Change titled Climate Change Risks to Australia’s Coast, this warning is based on credible science and is a scenario we should all be preparing for.
The report’s worst case scenario for the Clarence Valley is that up to 900 homes will be at risk of inundation from sea level rise by the end of the century.
At best, about 400 homes will be at risk and that is not including homes to be built in the future.
The report lays the cause of rising sea levels squarely on climate change.
It suggests extreme weather events will also be likely to become more intense, with larger and more damaging storm surges and the possible extension of cyclones further south.
“The current 1-in-100 year event could occur several times a year,” the national report said.
According to computerised modelling based on a 1.1 metre sea level rise, homes near the coast and in low-lying parts of the Valley could be under water or prone to inundation.
This includes large areas of west Yamba, islands in the Clarence River, west of Lawrence, Shark Creek, Lower Coldstream, Tucabia through to Sandy Crossing, Southgate, Ulmarra, Great Marlow and Alumy Creek.
Populated villages along the Clarence Coast would also be prone to inundation, including Iluka, Yamba, Brooms Head, Sandon and Wooli.......
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