2007 Hunter Valley Floods

The 2007 Hunter Valley floods was one of the most costly natural disasters witnessed by the people of New South Wales.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The Australian Government geosciences website provides information regarding the Hunter Valley floods stating that “On the 8^th and 9^th of June 2007, extreme weather in the Hunter Valley caused unprecedented flash flooding. This resulted in the beaching of a bulk carrier, evacuation of over 15,000 residents and economic and environmental damage causing over 1 billion dollars.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The extreme devastation caused by the Hunter Valley floods are clearly described on the website and provide necessary evidence stating that the 2007 floods caused economic, social and environmental devastation throughout the Hunter Valley region.                                                   The Hunter Valley flood was a wakeup call to the Hunter Valley residents; they will hopefully continue to fix the problem to help prevent this disaster from happening again.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Floods are a recurring problem in the Hunter Valley area, as its main city; Maitland was named the flood capital of New South Wales after the devastating 1955 floods.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The Hunter Valley floods affected mainly the Hunter Valley region but the storm surges affected right up the coast of New South Wales. Major cities like Newcastle were affected by the storms.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The smaller townships within the Hunter Valley were greatly affected because of the lack of resources available to them, compared to the larger regional locations, such as Newcastle.                                                                                                                                                                                                          Although the destruction caused by the floods was significant to many homes, most residents helped with the cleanup and recovery of the townships and together they assisted people who were less fortunate.

There are many different reasons why the Hunter Valley floods became so devastating.                                                                                                                               Storm surges in New South Wales are common and the mountainous terrain in the Hunter Valley region provides good waterways and valleys which can create a dangerous flood. This type of flooding is called rapid onset flooding (flash flooding).After the storms, water built up quickly in the main Hunter river, before long the water was almost at the peak of the levees.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        With both storm surges and torrential rain, together they caused the floods in the Hunter Valley. Within minutes these floods can have flooded over roads and cars, soon houses as well would be at risk.                                                                                                                                    Weather watchers keep a close eye on the storms and rain as they prepare to send out emergency warnings.