Natural Hazards

The Queensland Emergency Risk Management Framework (QERMF) assessment recently completed for Noosa Council highlights a number of region-wide risks. Below are risks identified to the Marcus Beach community.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) is the lead agency for weather-related warnings. These warnings are accessible from the warnings section on the Noosa Disaster Dashboard.

Severe Thunderstorms

A severe thunderstorm warning is issued when thunderstorms are expected to produce wind gusts of at least 90 kilometres per hour, tornadoes, lightning, large hail with a diameter of at least two centimetres or very heavy rain that can lead to flash flooding. The location of severe thunderstorms is difficult to accurately predict well in advance. As a result, severe thunderstorm warnings will generally have an advance warning time of one hour or less. For more information about severe thunderstorms and what to do during a severe storm, visit: Severe Thunderstorms.

Low Pressure Systems

On average, approximately ten times each year, an intense low-pressure system will form off the east coast of Australia. East Coast Lows can form at any time of the year and can bring damaging winds with gusts that exceed normal thunderstorms, large waves, and heavy rainfall, that can cause coastal erosion and flooding. Although they can happen at any time of the year, they’re more common during late autumn and winter, with a maximum frequency in June.

Cyclones

The risks associated with cyclones are related to a number of natural hazard components including damaging winds, heavy rainfall and storm surges. Cyclonic risk is a combination of the exposure of an area to damaging winds and the vulnerability of built infrastructure to withstand those winds. Typically, stronger winds are experienced on areas of higher elevation. 

For more information about cyclone preparedness and what to do during a cyclone, visit: Cyclones.

Storm Surge / Storm Tide

Storm surge is an abnormal rise in sea level over and above the normal (astronomical) tide levels. It can be thought of as the change in the water level due to the presence of a storm.

Storm tide is the water level that results from the combination of the storm surge and the normal (astronomical) tide. 

Current storm tide mapping indicates potential to impact a small amount of vegetation on the western side which borders Lake Weyba.

To understand the risk to your property and community, view the hazard layers for storm tide on the map at the Noosa Disaster Dashboard.

For more information about storm surge, visit: Storm Surge.

Flooding

Marcus Beach does not have a large area at risk of riverine flooding. The area which is most likely to be affected by flooding is the vegetation on the western side of the suburb along the boundary of Lake Weyba.

To understand the risk to your property and community, view the hazard layers for flood on the map at the Noosa Disaster Dashboard.

For more information about flood preparedness and what to do during a flood, visit: Floods.

Bushfire Risk

Marcus Beach is dominated by vegetation and borders Lake Weyba with a built up area surrounded by vegetation on the southern portion of the suburb. The vegetation in Marcus Beach is prone to medium to high bushfire intensity with the southern built up areas mostly not mapped as bushfire prone, however the buildings are surrounded by bushfire prone areas. 

To understand the risk to your property and community, view the hazard layers for bushfire on the map at the Noosa Disaster Dashboard.

For more information about bushfire preparedness and what to do during a bushfire, visit: Bushfires.

Landslide Risk

The majority of Marcus Beach is not mapped as being at risk of landslides. Minimal areas on the eastern portion of Marcus Beach along the shore have moderate to high landslide potential and moderate landslide potential along the ridges in the vegetation.

To understand the risk to your property and community, view the hazard layers for landslide on the map at the Noosa Disaster Dashboard.

For more information about landslide prevention and what to do during a landslide, visit: Landslide.

Earthquake Risk

The Queensland State Earthquake Assessment mapped zones of earthquake likelihood. Noosa is in zone 3. The Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) of a 5.35 magnitude earthquake occurring is 0.35%.

Magnitude	5.35 magnitude	6.05 magnitude
AEP	0.35%	0.06%

The Australian Seismic Site Conditions Map (ASSCM) produced by Geoscience Australia uses information about surficial geology (regolith) as a proxy for the potential behaviour of geological materials under the influence of seismic ground shaking, predominantly in the context of amplification of earthquake energy. This information has rated areas from category B to E, with B being areas with metamorphic rocks and likely to have the least amplification of earthquake energy  and E being areas with soft soil with the largest potential for amplification of earthquake energy. 

Marcus Beach is defined by soils that have moderate high to high potential for shaking (categories D to E). The majority of the suburb is largely identified as having a category B (low to moderate) response. The areas within Marcus Beach identified as having category E (high) response to an earthquake are the low-lying areas mostly aligning with overflow areas of Lake Weyba and the remaining area is identified as category D (moderate to high) response. 

Geoscience Australia is the information source for geotechnical hazards. Warnings of more than a few seconds are not available for earthquakes as they are difficult to predict. A post-event notification may be received that may result in the LDMG issuing local warnings.

For more information about earthquake preparedness and what to do during an earthquake, visit: Earthquake.

Heatwave Risk

Heatwaves can impact infrastructure, communities and the environment. In terms of impacts to communities, people are more vulnerable to heatwaves if they are aged under 5 or over 65 years or have a medical condition. In Marcus Beach, 4.8% of people are aged under 5, 28.4% of people are aged over 65 and there is a significantly lower percentage of people with long-term health conditions when compared to Noosa overall.

Land surface temperature can be remotely sensed to compare spatial heatwave vulnerability. A Landsat8 surface temperature map during a heatwave period at Noosa found Boreen Point to have a similar mean surface temperature compared to Noosa overall. This means that the suburb has similar exposure to heatwave as Noosa overall. 

For more information about heatwave preparedness and what to do during a heatwave, visit: Heatwave.

Tsunami Risk

Tsunami risk varies for Queensland coastal locations. Within Marcus Beach, areas directly adjacent to Lake Weyba and the coastline are within the evacuation area. 

The Queensland Government has developed tsunami evacuation area mapping for the Queensland coastline to support community warnings and risk-informed planning. This mapping is available at: https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/prepare/tsunami/evacuation-areas

Other Risks 

Non-natural or technological hazard events such as fires or explosions, whilst low risk could arise at any time and sometimes with little to no warning. Other events such as pandemics, biosecurity threats or animal diseases may provide adequate warning time but may also persist over a long duration creating significant social, economic and environmental stressors. 

Critical Infrastructure

Critical infrastructure that may be affected during a disaster includes electricity, water, sewerage, telecommunications, gas, and road and rail networks. Impacts of a disaster on these services may have far-reaching long-term effects for Noosa Shire Council communities.

Critical infrastructure within Marcus Beach includes:

Water

Water services for Noosa are provided by Unitywater. To view current water outages visit the Noosa Disaster Dashboard or the Unitywater Outage Finder.

Electricity

Energex provides electricity to Marcus Beach. To view current electricity outages visit the Noosa Disaster Dashboard or the Energex Outage Finder.

Stay away from fallen powerlines and alert others of the danger – contact 000 or Energex on 13 19 62.

Telecommunications

Marcus Beach is connected via landlines to telecommunications and data networks. Generally, there is good mobile network coverage. Telstra is the major supplier of telecommunications to the region; other suppliers include Optus and Vodafone.

Marcus Beach is connected to the National Broadband Network (NBN) with reliable coverage. It is important to note that any equipment connected via the NBN will not work during a power outage, including VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phones. For more information about what happens in a power blackout for the type of connection at your residence, refer to the NBN website on What Happens in a Power Blackout.

People with specialised equipment can request battery back-up solutions through their internet service provider; battery back-up is required for all Priority Assistance customers who suffer from a diagnosed life-threatening illness. If you have a medical alarm, emergency call button, auto dialler, security alarm, monitored fire alarm or lift emergency phones at your premises, please contact your equipment provider to confirm whether your equipment will work via the network in the event of a power outage. 

Further information is also available on the NBN website on how to register these devices; this assists the NBN in identifying premises where support maybe be required to minimise service outages. 

Roads & Transport

Vehicle access throughout Marcus Beach can be dependent upon seasons, with some roads impassable in sustained wet weather. 

Localised flooding may temporarily restrict access and cut roads to other parts of the Noosa Shire. Please consider this when planning to drive during periods of heavy rain. Refer to the list of roads that may be impacted by localised flooding in the Noosa Shire.

To view current road conditions, visit the Noosa Disaster Dashboard. 

If it’s flooded, forget it!

Sewerage

Sewerage services for Noosa are provided by Unitywater. To view current sewerage outages visit the Noosa Disaster Dashboard or the Unitywater Outage Finder.

To view current sewerage outages visit the Noosa Disaster Dashboard or the Unitywater Outage Finder.

Gas

There is no domestic or commercial reticulated gas service within the Noosa Shire. There are homes within the area that use gas bottles to service hot water systems and cooking appliances. Residents are reminded to be diligent with the appropriate storage and maintenance of any gas bottles that they have located on their property.

Prevent

Prevention and mitigation are all those actions we can take to make sure that a disaster doesn’t happen or, if it does happen, that it doesn’t cause as much harm as it could. 

We can’t stop most natural phenomena happening, but we can reduce the damage caused by natural hazard events. 

The Noosa Plan 2020 is an important tool for preventing disasters through land-use planning. Additionally, Council enforces building codes and standards to ensure that houses and critical infrastructure such as schools and hospitals will withstand likely impacts from natural hazard events. Council and LDMG agencies also undertake hazard reduction activities to manage risks under their control (e.g. Noosa Council proactively mitigates the risk of bushfire on Council owned land).

There are many steps that individuals can take to prevent disasters. Undertaking design improvements such as installing cyclone screening or gutter guard can assist with mitigating any impacts from severe storms, maintaining fire breaks can save property and critical infrastructure during bushfires and planting trees can prevent erosion, landslides and drought.

Prepare

Preparing for natural hazards and disaster events usually happens well before a hazard occurs. Having plans that allow you to respond to hazards in a calm and organised manner is a good way step toward being prepared. Additional information for preparing can be found at:

• Prepare Yourself

• Prepare Your Home

• Prepare Your Pets & Livestock

• Prepare Your Cars and Boats

• Prepare Your Business

• Prepare Your Community Group

• Emergency Action Guide

Respond

How to respond when a natural hazard or disaster threatens or occurs should be planned well before the disaster. For current information on hazards and disasters please head to the Noosa Disaster Dashboard. 

Further information that can help with responding to a hazard can be found below:

• Tune In, Log On, Listen Out and ACT!

• Evacuation Information

• Evacuation Routes

• Evacuation Centres

• Simple Tips

Recover

Disasters affect everyone differently. Some people recover soon after while others may take a long time to feel like things are ‘back to normal’. Try to establish a routine and move forward as quickly as possible and seek help from family and friends to help you get back on your feet. 

• Cleaning Up

• Helping Others

• Dealing with Insurance

• Psychological & Emotional Recovery

• Financial Recovery

Useful links

• Emergency contacts