Queanbeyan

The LGA is vulnerable to a wide range of natural hazards, making it essential to understand the nature and extent of exposure to people, buildings, infrastructure, services, or natural resources to effectively assess and address associated risks.

Exposure can be seen in various forms:

• Relative exposure is a function of hazard, describing the frequency and magnitude of natural hazard events and capturing the compounding effect of multiple hazards (fire and flood for this analysis). Where a community is subject to both fire and flood, it is potentially less resilient than one exposed to a single hazard of the same frequency and magnitude;
• The physical exposure of a community is determined such that the quantum of exposed people, buildings, essential facilities, industry, and agriculture can be evaluated. The physical vulnerability of exposed elements is also important, such as the age and construction type of buildings (for example, buildings with raised floors are more resilient to flood as they provide greater protection to the occupants and their belongings, resulting in less loss of life and property); and
• Social vulnerability is determined by examining socio-economic and demographic factors that may exacerbate or ameliorate the effects of an external threat to a person’s life, livelihood, or assets. Examples of these types of indicators include age, occupation, health status, income and education.

The Resilience Blueprint identified the following hazards as relevant hazardous events for the southeast NSW region. In 2024 the State Disaster Mitigation Plan (SDMP) was implemented and any additional hazards or information regarding exposure of hazard in the region has been included below:

  Flooding (riverine and flash)

• Queanbeyan, as well as several of the townships within the LGA that have historically been susceptible to flooding. Sections of the Queanbeyan CBD are subject to inundation in a flood event owing to its proximity to the Queanbeyan River;
• Bungendore is prone to flooding owing to the township’s proximity to Turallo and Halfway Creeks;
• Flooding in Captains Flat can pose risks to residents, particularly those that reside near creeks or overland flow paths;
• Based on the potential event probability, as provided by Risk Frontiers, annual average loss of residential, commercial and industrial buildings from flood in the LGA is 67 per cent under a RCP 4.5 scenario. This accounts for a high probability occurring and a high financial cost consequence of flood activity;
• The major flooding risk to the township of Queanbeyan is from the Queanbeyan and Mongolo Rivers. The major floods on record include: ²⁷
  • May 1925, where the Queanbeyan River reached a height of about 10.7m at the Queens Bridge stream gauge. This is considered to be Queanbeyan’s largest flood on record. The flood swept away the railway bridge over the Queanbeyan River, and caused significant infrastructure damage;
  • August 1974, where the water level at the Queens Bridge stream gauge peaked at 9.5 m (prior to the construction of the Googong Dam) and was considered a 5% AEP flood under pre-dam conditions. This flood was also significant, in that the Queanbeyan Riverside cemetery was significantly affected with almost 100 graves being washed away; ²⁸
  • October 1976, which had an estimated peak of 9.2m, which occurred during the construction of the Googong Dam. Approximately 5,000 people were evacuated in Queanbeyan and reportedly 400 houses were reported damaged or destroyed.
  • July 1984, which reached a peak of 6.2m at the Queens Bridge Gauge (minor flood level);
  • July 1988, which peaked at 7.6 m on the Queens Bridge gauge;
  • April 1989, which reached a peak of 6.2m at the Queens Bridge Gauge (minor flood level);
  • Jule 1991, which peaked at 6.9 m on the Queens Bridge gauge. During this event the SES sandbagged parts of the CBD to ensure traffic movements continued. floodwater inundated the Riverside Plaza carpark and the lower floor of the Queanbeyan Leagues Club; and
  • December 2010, where the Googong Dam peaked at 100% and spilled over. The flood peaked at 8.4m at the Queens Bridge gauge. The flood was equivalent to about a 5% AEP design flood event. Flooding inundated parts of the city and certain buildings, and select evacuations were required.
• Googong Dam is located approximately 10km upstream of Queanbeyan on the Queanbeyan River and supplies drinking water to Queanbeyan and Canberra. The construction of the dam in the 1970s has lowered the risk of flooding occuring in Queanbeyan and surrounds; ²⁹
• Flooding has also occurred for a number of the townships with the Shire, including:
  • Captains Flat, in December 2010, where a dozen properties experienced overfloor flooding. This flooding was exacerbated by blocked drainage systems; and ³⁰
  • Bungendore, on various occasions with the largest flood on record being the 1934 flood. This is due to Bungendore’s location at the junction of Turallo and Halfway Creeks which are tributaries that drain to the southern shoreline of Lake George. ³¹

Actions taken or proposed:

• Council has undertaken a number of flood studies to better understand current and future anticipated flood behaviour in the LGA, including the:
  • Queanbeyan Floodplain Risk Management Study & Plan in 2020, prepared   Lyall & Associates Pty Ltd and Nexus Environmental Planning Pty Ltd; ³²
  • Captains Flat Floodplain Risk Management Study in 2016, prepared by Cardno (NSW/ACT) Pty Ltd; and ³³
  • Bungendore Floodplain Risk Management Study in 2014, prepared by Worley Parsons Resources & Energy Pty Ltd. ³⁴
• Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS) considered risks associated with flooding as a major issue affecting much of the LGA. The following outcomes and actions are relevant to addressing flood risk in the LSPS:
  • Priority Action 14: We will increase resilience to natural hazards and climate change;
  • Outcome: Vulnerability to the impacts of flooding, bushfires, heat waves and severe storms and winds are minimised;
  • Outcome: People and developments are safely placed away from natural hazards (fire, flood) and agricultural lands and activities are designed to weather natural phenomena (drought and storm);
  • Outcome: Current data, authority advice and guidelines on hazards, including bushfire and floods, are used for land-use and resilience planning;
  • Action 4.5.7: Protect Defence assets from trespass, surveillance, noise and vibration sensitive land uses, electromagnetic radiation, flooding, and impeded access to shared resources such as road networks;
  • Action 4.8.8: Investigate options for stormwater and flood mitigation, including implement LGA wide Floodplain Risk Management Program; and
  • Action 4.8.10: Review and update hazard mapping including bushfire and flooding.
• Council’s LSPS also includes several Planning Priorities for the various localities in the LGA to review and update hazard mapping including bushfire and flooding;
• In 2024, the Australian Federal Government invested more than $2.2 million to fund flood mitigation infrastructure in Bungendore following catastrophic flooding that impacted the town in 2022. This funding was provided to Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council to construct an overflow channel on Turallo Creek in Bungendore. This is expected to be completed by late 2026; ³⁵
• Council has allocated funding to Worley Consulting to produce the updated Bungendore Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan, which will incorporate data gathered from the significant flood event in 2022; and ³⁶
• Council has committed to preparing a Floodplain Risk Management Strategy for the Queanbeyan CBD, which is expected to be completed mid-2025. ³⁷

 Severe storm

• Severe storms in NSW are often associated with East Coast Lows (ECL). ECL events are extreme weather systems that occur in South-East Australia, bringing extreme winds, rain, hail and lightening;
• The maximum annual windspeed is projected to increase across the LGA;
• Based on the potential event probability, as provided by Risk Frontiers, annual average loss of residential, commercial and industrial buildings from hail damage associated with a storm in the LGA is 17 per cent under a RCP 4.5 scenario. This accounts for a low probability of occurring but a high financial cost consequence of severe storm activity;
• In January 2020, a severe hailstorm swept through Queanbeyan and the ACT. It was reported that more than 15,000 insurance claims had been lodged as a result of the storm; and ³⁸
• The southern ranges within the BFMC area experience significant thunderstorm activity during summer, causing many lightning strikes. These strikes have the risk of starting bushfires in remote areas which can be difficult to access due to rough terrain. ³⁹

Note: for the purposes of this report, cyclone was not commented on.

Actions taken or proposed:

• No actions have been taken or proposed for to address storm and cyclone risks within the LGA.

 Fire (bushfire and grassfire)

• Bush and grass fires are known to affect the LGA, with much of the rural areas identified as being within very high / high risk land; ⁴⁰
• Based on the potential event probability, as provided by Risk Frontiers, annual average loss of residential, commercial and industrial buildings from flood in the LGA is 5 per cent under a RCP 4.5 scenario. This accounts for a low probability of occurring but a high financial cost consequence of bushfire activity;
• The bush fire season generally runs from October to March with September and/or April included some years. Prevailing weather conditions associated with the bush fire season in LGA consist of strong north-westerly fronts generated from the interior, which may be extremely dry and hot.  Most of the major fires in recent times have occurred when strong north-westerly winds precede a southerly change; ⁴¹
• There are approximately 30 bush fires per year in the LGA. In the last five years, three can be considered as major urban fires; ⁴²
• There have been a number of significant bushfire events in the LGA, including:
  • In February 2017, a bushfire in Carwoola destroyed 11 homes, and damaged 12 others (as well as damaging / destroying approximately 85 outbuildings). The fire was estimated to have burned over 3,500 hectares of land; ⁴³
  • In March 1985, a the Googong Dam bushfire resulted in significant damage in the areas surrounding Captains Flat, including the loss of stock and over 12,000ha of land being burnt. ⁴⁴

Actions taken or proposed:

• Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS) considered risks associated with bushfires as a major issue affecting much of the LGA. The following outcomes and actions are relevant to addressing flood risk in the LSPS:
  • Priority Action 14: We will increase resilience to natural hazards and climate change;
  • Outcome: Vulnerability to the impacts of flooding, bushfires, heat waves and severe storms and winds are minimised;
  • Outcome: Current data, authority advice and guidelines on hazards, including bushfire and floods, are used for land-use and resilience planning;
  • Action 4.8.8: Investigate options for stormwater and flood mitigation, including implement LGA wide Floodplain Risk Management Program; and
  • Action 4.8.10: Review and update hazard mapping including bushfire and flooding.
• Council’s LSPS also includes several Planning Priorities for the various localities in the LGA to review and update hazard mapping including bushfire and flooding.

 Snow

• Snow falls affected different parts of the LGA. Several local and major roads in the LGA may be affected by snow falls and can be closed. These include: ⁴⁵
  • Kings Highway (between Bungendore and Queanbeyan, east of Captains Flat Road);
  • Jerangle Road (south of the Captains Flat township through to Jerangle and Bredbo);
  • Federal Highway, particularly along the Lake George Range where snowfalls can result in black ice forming in the lee of the range, between Gearys Gap and Collector, presenting a significant risk to vehicle traffic); and
  • Monaro Highway, at various locations (though these events are rare and generally only cause minor traffic disruptions).

Actions taken or proposed:

• The State Emergency Service (SES) has implemented a South Eastern Region Snow Emergency Sub Plan with key strategies and actions.

 Landslide

• Landslide can be triggered by severe weather events (e.g. heavy rainfall) or human activities (vegetation removal, overgrazing, slope modification, etc.).⁴⁶
• The probability of landslides in the region are considered rare, but the level of consequence can be high depending on the location. This risk is higher in parts of the LGA with steep topography.

Actions taken or proposed

• No actions have been taken or proposed for to address landslide risks within the LGA.

  Heatwave

• A heatwave is generally defined as ‘a period of abnormally hot weather lasting over several days’, and can be characterised as three or more days of high maximum and high minimum temperatures that are unusual for that location;’⁴⁷
• The report found that urban areas like Queanbeyan, Googong, and Bungendore are significantly hotter than natural areas such as the Tallaganda National Park. This is partially due to land type useage, as urban areas have higher concentration of heat storing materials (e.g. cement, bitumen, etc.) which are warmer than vegetation (e.g. trees, grasses). ⁴⁸
• In January 2009, a severe heatwave impacted the LGA causing then record high temperatures and a record number of consecutive days above 40^{o 49}

Actions taken or proposed:

• Council has prepared the ‘Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council’s (QPRC) Keeping it Cool – Vegetation and Heat Adaptation Strategy’ to undertake surface heat mapping of the shire.

  Tsunami

• Tsunami’s can be generated by a number of causes, however, undersea earthquakes are the most likely to generate such an event. Tsunami waves can run up beyond the high tide mark causing significant damage to coastal areas.

Note: Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council is not exposed to this hazard, however the tsunami is a hazard for the SE NSW Region and may have consequential impacts to the LGA.

Actions taken or proposed:

• No actions have been taken or proposed for to address storm and cyclone risks within the Council area.

 Earthquake

• The Canberra Region, including Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council sit on a major eastern fault line. There is a major fault line east of Queanbeyan running north south to Googong. The nearest seismic zone is 60 km away, north of Gunning; and ⁵⁰
• Based on the potential event probability, as provided by Risk Frontiers, annual average loss of residential, commercial and industrial buildings from flood in the LGA is 10 per cent under a RCP 4.5 scenario. This accounts for a low probability of occurring but a high financial cost consequence of earthquake activity.

Actions taken or proposed:

• No actions have been taken or proposed for to address earthquake risks within the Council area.