Arrangements for Flood Warning Services in Victoria
February 2001

The purpose of the Victoria Flood Management Strategy is to improve the effectiveness of flood management and to reduce future losses caused by floods in Victoria.

This Strategy sets out state wide policy guidelines, and identifies roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders. It also sets out key programs, one of which is flood warning and flood emergency planning. The priorities within this program are set by the VFWCC through its Flood Warning System Development Plan and committee policy decisions.

The Strategy considers flood management in the broad context of emergency management as described in the Emergency Management Manual Victoria. Emergency management involves three primary clusters of activities ­ prevention, response and recovery and supports a risk management approach. The Strategy recognises the importance of land use planning measures to reduce the future growth of flood damages, and contingency planning to address the risk of flooding from events which overwhelm existing flood management measures.

The flood warning roles of the Commonwealth, State and Local Governments, Regional Authorities and community as presented in the Strategy and these ARRANGEMENTS, are aligned. The ARRANGEMENTS provide extra information and necessary detail for providing flood warning services.

The Victoria Flood Management Strategy recognises that for flood warning services:

• Take a lead role in the provision of flood warning services through the Bureau of Meteorology (and relevant committees such as the Victorian Flood Warning Consultative Committee).
• Support the development of State emergency management capabilities through the activities of Emergency Management Australia.

• Encourage and facilitate the implementation of flood warning systems and emergency management programs to reduce residual risk of flooding to life, health and safety and damages caused by flooding.
• Ensure that relevant flood information is available to promote community awareness and facilitate decision making.

• Support and facilitate the implementation of regional flood warning systems.
• Maintain and enhance flood information and coordinate monitoring of significant flood events.

• Implement and maintain local flood warning systems, including systems for flash flooding.
• Maintain and enhance local flood information and monitor significant local flood events.
• Support, develop and resource the implementation of a flood sub plan(s), as part of their municipal emergency management plan.

• Knowing the assessed level of flood risk, the predicted extent of flooding and its consequences.
• Participating in risk assessment and prioritisation processes.
• Exploring possible risk treatment options which are environmentally sound and reduce both the likelihood and consequences of possible flood events, and being aware of the limits to those options.
• Participating in reducing personal and community vulnerability, and increasing resilience to deal with those flood events which overcome any flood management measures which may be in place.
• Managing its own recovery from flood events.

Victoria Flood Management Strategy policy is that flood warning system development at the State, regional and local level will be in accordance with these ARRANGEMENTS, the regional floodplain management strategy of the relevant Catchment Management Authority, and specific local needs.