Rescue training for residents, including children, is one of the key recommendations in an independent study of this year's devastating floods in Australia.
A report commissioned by the New South Wales government also said residents of the "highest risk" areas near the city of Lismore need to be relocated "urgently".
Among the 28 recommendations in the study were state repurchases of flood-prone land and land exchanges to allow property owners to move to higher ground.
Former Australian Chief Scientist Mary O'Kane is a co-author of this report. She told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that flood-prone areas need to be better protected.
"We also recommend that people be kept out of danger as much as possible in the event of flooding," O'Kane said. “Flooding is a predictable disaster in the sense that you know where it will occur. Flooding occurs on flood plains, so you have to make sure people are not living in a straight line of water.”
The New South Wales Government has committed to implement all 28 recommendations. It will ensure that communities return to stronger communities.In a more resilient way.”
Authorities in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, have announced a response to natural disasters. Reconsider your coping strategies. The administration of the Local Fire Department and the National Emergency Service, which are mainly voluntary organizations, will be merged. A permanent Reconstruction and Disaster Management Agency will also be established.
Residents in flood-hit areas said government agencies and parliament responded too slowly and incompletely to this year's floods.
In Lismore, the official response was too slow, prompting residents to rush to the flooded city streets to rescue stranded residents.
The report also calls for new ways to understand the risks of climate change and extreme rainfall.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said this year's record-breaking floods were due to La Niña weather patterns that may have been exacerbated by global warming.
