Influence of road characteristics on flood fatalities in ... · Influence of road characteristics...
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© BUSHFIRE AND NATURAL HAZARDS CRC 2015
Influence of road characteristics
on flood fatalities in Australia
ANDREW GISSING, MATALENA TOFA, SIMON OPPER AND KATHARINE HAYNESRisk Frontiers, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia
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Objectives
Identify the influence of roadway characteristics on
flood fatalities so that risk assessment approaches can
be developed to consider the prioritisation of
remediation works and inform future design
requirements.
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1 Coates et al., 20142 Haynes et al., 20163 Blanchi et al., 20144 Recent updates to PerilAUS
Hazard Period of
coverage
Fatalities
Extreme heat1 1900-2011 4,555
Flood2 1900-2015 1,859
Tropical cyclone4 1900-2015 1,208
Bushfire3 1900-2011 825
Wind storm4 1900-2015 495
Australia’s top five natural hazard
killers
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Death rates from flooding
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Age and gender
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• 178 fatalities
• 67% male, 30% female
• Age - highest proportion 10-19
• QLD 52%; NSW 26%; VIC 9%; NT 8%; WA 3%; TAS 2%
• Majority (54%) died attempting to cross a watercourse
• Almost 50% of fatalities were in a vehicle, 25% on foot and
12% swimming
2000-2015
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Vehicle related deaths globally
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Country Percentage of
fatalities
Reference
USA 68% Terti et al. 2016
Greece 40% Diakakis and
Deligiannakis, 2015
Portugal 14% Pereira et al., 2017
France 30% Vinet et al., 2016
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8
Existing approaches
Research has focused mainly
on why people enter
floodwater, evaluation of risk
communication efforts and
vehicle stability in floodwater.
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• 21 sites assessed. Most sites were rural (73 percent)
• Incidents were between 2010 and 2017
• Selected sites represent some 43% percent of total
deaths over this period
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• road structure type
• roadway side barriers
• road side topography
• downstream depths
adjacent to the
roadway
• signage
• warning systems
• lighting
• road pavement
• road alignment
• road grade
• speed restrictions
• traffic volume
• downstream
vegetation
• ability for a vehicle to
be turned around
• presence of road side
markers and curb and
guttering.
Observational Assessment
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• In 90% of cases vehicles were washed
off the road pavement. The remainder
likely to have driven off the road and
into floodwater.
• Most frequent roadway structures
where fatalities occurred were
floodways (48 percent) and bridges
(33 percent).
• In three cases water rose quickly
around the vehicle or it was reported
to have been struck by a wall of
water.
Results
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• In 35% of cases, multiple persons were
inside the vehicle at the time of the
incident and at least one person was
able to escape the vehicle.
• At two sites two fatal incidents
occurred during the same flood
event.
• In 38% of incidents emergency
services or passers-by were available
within seconds to minutes.
Results
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• In the majority of cases, the roads
were local and were likely to
normally accommodate low traffic
flows (66 percent).
• In 19 percent of cases the roads
were identified as major roads that
would usually accommodate a high
traffic flow.
• Average speed limit 70km/h (Range
50km/h to 110km/h).
Results
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• 48% of cases, the deceased
was discovered inside the
flooded vehicle.
• 43% of cases the deceased
was discovered outside of the
vehicle indicating that they
either had attempted to
escape from the vehicle or
were washed from it.
• Remainder unknown.
Results
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ResultsSmall
catchment
size
Side barriers
at point of
entry
Deep water
adjacent to
roadway
Downstream
vegetation or
obstacle
Turn around
with ease
Characteristic
observed 20 0 17 17 6
Total
observations 21 21 20 21 20
Percent 95 0 85 81 30
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Results
Road sealed Lighting
Bend in road
before point
of entry
Dipping road
grade Signage
Characteristic
observed 18 2 6 11 12
Total
observations 21 7 21 21 20
Percent 86 29 29 52 60
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How effective is signage?
Level of flooding• Time of day
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Results
• 84% of motorists
ignored road closure signs and travelled
through floodwater
• Large majority of
drivers were male
• Most frequent vehicle
type were 4WDs
• Age varied
Level of flooding• Time of day
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53%
9%
38%
Drivers Entering Floodwater By Sex
Male
Female
Unknown
20
39
1216
9
23
4 1 5
Co
un
t
Vehicle Type
Drivers Entering Floodwater By Vehicle Type
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• Flood risk across roadways is not uniform.
• Key factors include:
• Probability of flooding exceeding key depth and velocity criteria
• Presence of road side barriers
• Rate of rise
• Traffic flow
• Immediate depths adjacent to road surface
• Ability to turn around
• Could roadside barriers be utilised more often?
Key findings
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• Validate findings utilising data about flood rescues. What
is different at these locations? Why do people survive?
• Develop a risk assessment method to identify “black
spots” to prioritise remediation works and road closure
during flood events.
Next steps
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Andrew Gissing
ph: +61-408 211 697; email: [email protected]
website: www.riskfrontiers.com; twitter: @andegiss
Reports and papers
Haynes, K., Coates, L., Dimer de Oliveira, F., Gissing, A., Bird, D., van den Honert,
R., Radford, D., D’Arcy, R, Smith, C. (2016). An analysis of human fatalities from
floods in Australia 1900-2015. Report for the Bushfire and Natural Hazard
Cooperative Research Centre.
Gissing, A., Haynes, K., Coates, L., Keys, C. (2016) Motorist Behaviour During 2015
Shoalhaven Floods. Australian Journal of Emergency Management. April 2015, 31
(2).
WRL vehicle stability research
www.wrl.unsw.edu.au/news/vehicle-stability-testing-for-flood-flows