Planning for Extreme Weather Events

Extreme Weather Events Lead to crisis flooding in West Cork.

Last year I asked some of the worlds leading experts to participate at a climate change conference I organised in Cork City. I felt compelled to do this after reading many of the scientific studies and reports on climate change and global warming and witnessing the growing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events and flash flooding that Ireland was experiencing. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (IPCC) had recently published their most recent assessment on climate change so I met with the Chairman in London and asked if he would be willing to participate. He agreed. I contacted the Director of NASA Goddard Space studies Dr James Hansen the world’s leading climatologist. I also contacted the Head of the International renowned Hadley Centre Dr Vicky Pope in addition to many other experts from varying fields and professions from water management, flooding experts, agriculture, public health and humanitarian relief.

That day I had over 25 speakers participate in one of the most remarkable events I have ever participated in with over 300 attendees including one hundred third level students from eight universities and students representing twenty secondary schools in cork city and county.

Every sector of Irish society was represented apart from one, local elected councillor's. I was very disappointed at this as I had personally written to over 700 elected councillor's and some 160 TD’S inviting them to attend so that they could hear first hand what the worlds leading scientist’s and experts had to say on climate change, emergency preparedness, disaster management and adaptation. I genuinely thought local councillors would be interested in attending, I believed that they had a duty of care to whom they represented to be informed on climate change and its implications for the communities they represent at point I had communicated to each of them in my correspondence. Remember that the cost of flash flooding to Irish agriculture and the insurance industry in 2008 was in excess of 200million euro. The cost for 2009 will be order of magnitudes higher than this. As an environmental scientist I desired local councillor's to attend for a number of reasons, not only to learn about the impacts of climate change as I previously mentioned but also to find out what they could do as public representatives to minimize the risk for the public they represent. That means proper planning and development, flood relief, land use management and ensuring that services for emergency planning and preparedness are adequately funded and resourced.

In total three councillors attended the conference, representing counties Clare, Roscommon and Dublin; even though the conference was in Cork not one Town Councillor, City or County councillor was able to attend, not even when the Minister for Environment was in attendance as well as the principle deputies of the Oireachtas committee on Climate Change and Energy Security lead by Deputy Simon Coveney T.D. and Deputy Liz MacManus T.D. both of whom I had asked to speak on the work of the Oireachtas Committee of which they are principal members.

One year on, Skibbereen, Dunmanway and Clonakilty experience further flooding and Bandon town and Cork City experience the worse flooding in living memory. Flooding that was not just down to unprecedented rainfall but poor planning, land use management and flood protection measures and further exasperated by poor co-ordination of emergency relief, a breakdown of communications and responsibility which also played a major role in the catastrophe. The consequence of which the communities and businesses are not only coming to terms with. It was truly miraculous that their was no fatalities and for this we are to be thankful.

Last week I was invited to Waterford City to give a presentation for the Copenhagen Countdown on emergency planning, disaster management and climate change. The presentation was based on my observations and experiences in Bandon town. I would be delighted to give this presentation in Bandon or Skibbereen or Clonakilty to both the local communities and public representatives. It is apolitical as I myself have resigned from the green party, for a somewhat similar reason, that is, in my view, their inability to adapt to a changing political and economic climate, not preparing strategies for the future of the green party and their handling of the NAMA debacle. In light of the initial 10 million disaster fund created by the Government it is somewhat interesting to note that the cost of NAMA will be roughly 10million a day for the next 15yrs.

The weather is changing we need proactive management to reduce the risk and the creation of policies and programmes to put these strategies into effect. As a community we must adapt and learn from our experiences. A major flood disaster is sometimes an opportunity to correct not only the planning errors of the past but plan for the future.