With hospitals under strain from COVID-19, we need to safeguard them against another threat set to increase as the world warms.
Professor Martin Loosemore, School of Built Environment, Maziar Yazdani, UNSW, and Mohammad Mojtahedi, UNSW
That threat? Flooding. Many Australian hospitals were built on cheap land near rivers. But as climate change loads the dice in favour of larger floods, areas previously safe may no longer be so. We must plan ahead to ensure patients and healthcare workers are not trapped by floodwaters.
Our new research shows future floods in low-lying areas of Western Sydney are likely to disrupt road networks, preventing safe evacuation of patients. Only last year, this region suffered its worst floods in decades, and more are expected as we enter a flooding cycle. This fast-growing region is rated one of Australia’s highest flooding risks, and hosts a number of healthcare facilities built in flood-prone areas.
The solution? We believe new approaches to mathematical modelling can help decision makers optimise plans for safe evacuation in different flooding scenarios. By cutting evacuation time, we hope these approaches can save lives.
- Read the full story in The Conversation: Our hospitals are at greater risk of flooding as the climate changes. We need better evacuation plans.