Sandy has lessons for Australia, Bureau of Meteorology says

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Bureau of Meteorology is closely monitoring post-tropical cyclone Sandy for what it tells about climate risks in Australia. “This is the sort of thing we're warning about increasing over time,” said Karl Braganza, manager of climate monitoring at the Bureau of Meteorology's National Climate Centre in Melbourne, comparing Hurricane Sandy to Cyclone Yasi, a monster storm which slammed into Queensland in February 2011. “It is the combination of sea-level rise, storm surge (like the one coming in from Sandy on the eastern USA coast) and high tides that lead to the worst flooding events,” added Dr Will Steffen, a member of the Australian Climate Commission.

The Bureau of Meteorology is also studying the effectiveness of US government public alerts ahead of Hurricane Sandy's arrival and how receptive the population has been as a guide to how to handle future disaster risks in Australia, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. While Hurricane Irene left a damage bill of as much as $US20 billion, Sandy will cause about $US35 billion to $US45 billion in losses and damages, in addition to $US36 billion in recovery, and “It's that sort of vulnerability and risk that we're trying to communicate,” said economist Peter Morici at the University of Maryland as cited by Reuters.