Macca-GC
October 22nd, 2004, 10:29 AM
From the Gold Coast Bulletin.
High-rise lifeboat
22Oct04
SURFERS Paradise has broken new ground in floodplain living, with a council requirement that a new apartment building has to have its own lifeboat.
As Rove would say, 'What the!'
As far as The Gold Coast Bulletin could ascertain, this is the first time that a building completely surrounded by land has been required to have its own lifeboat to evacuate residents, and raises the question of what will happen to the residents of other high rises in the case of a major flood.
Councillor Susie Douglas, in whose division the building falls, said the building had been a 'test case' for the area's buildings, under a new planning scheme approved for the city last year which set new safety standards for emergency flood conditions.
"If this building had not been approved it would have meant that all development of the area would have come to a halt," she said.
However, she could not say whether all buildings in the area would now be required to add lifeboats to their safety plans, and that would be decided on a 'case by case' basis.
"At the minimum, this will force building owners in the area to look at their evacuation plans in the case of a one-in-a-100 (-year) flood hitting us."
The still unnamed 15-storey building is to be built by winemaker Terry Morris, of Sirromet Wines, on the corner of Peninsular Drive and Mallana Street at Surfers Paradise.
The area is immediately adjacent to the main channel of the Nerang River opposite the Isle of Capri. Council documents show that, in the event of a major flood, the building would become an island of concrete and glass in a sea of floodwater, with the nearest dry land more than 1km away. In the event of such a flood it is estimated that Peninsular Drive, the only land access to or from the building, would be under almost 2m of water.
Under the Flood Management and Risk Mitigation Plan proposed by the new owners, the lifeboat would be 'maintained by the body corporate'.
The council accepted that proposal, adding that the owners were required to liaise with the State Emergency Services about the 'size, capacity, type, safety equipment etc'.
But true to council bureaucratic efficiency, no one at council bothered to tell the SES about the new plan. Approached for details, all local SES chief Peter Linell could do was laugh.
High-rise lifeboat
22Oct04
SURFERS Paradise has broken new ground in floodplain living, with a council requirement that a new apartment building has to have its own lifeboat.
As Rove would say, 'What the!'
As far as The Gold Coast Bulletin could ascertain, this is the first time that a building completely surrounded by land has been required to have its own lifeboat to evacuate residents, and raises the question of what will happen to the residents of other high rises in the case of a major flood.
Councillor Susie Douglas, in whose division the building falls, said the building had been a 'test case' for the area's buildings, under a new planning scheme approved for the city last year which set new safety standards for emergency flood conditions.
"If this building had not been approved it would have meant that all development of the area would have come to a halt," she said.
However, she could not say whether all buildings in the area would now be required to add lifeboats to their safety plans, and that would be decided on a 'case by case' basis.
"At the minimum, this will force building owners in the area to look at their evacuation plans in the case of a one-in-a-100 (-year) flood hitting us."
The still unnamed 15-storey building is to be built by winemaker Terry Morris, of Sirromet Wines, on the corner of Peninsular Drive and Mallana Street at Surfers Paradise.
The area is immediately adjacent to the main channel of the Nerang River opposite the Isle of Capri. Council documents show that, in the event of a major flood, the building would become an island of concrete and glass in a sea of floodwater, with the nearest dry land more than 1km away. In the event of such a flood it is estimated that Peninsular Drive, the only land access to or from the building, would be under almost 2m of water.
Under the Flood Management and Risk Mitigation Plan proposed by the new owners, the lifeboat would be 'maintained by the body corporate'.
The council accepted that proposal, adding that the owners were required to liaise with the State Emergency Services about the 'size, capacity, type, safety equipment etc'.
But true to council bureaucratic efficiency, no one at council bothered to tell the SES about the new plan. Approached for details, all local SES chief Peter Linell could do was laugh.