"Unprecedented" Flooding From King Tides On Torres Strait Islands (AUS)

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Over the past two years, half the populated islands of the Torres Strait have experienced unprecedented flooding from surging king tides. The islanders cannot prove that climate change is to blame for the tidal flooding or for shifts in the weather, but their elders are baffled. Although the flooding of the islands has gone largely unnoticed on Australia's mainland, from next year it is set to become a globally reported issue.

According to the draft of the fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, written by the world's top climate scientists and seen by The Age before its official release next year, the king tides have exposed a need for better coastal protection and long-term planning to potentially relocate half the 4000 people living on the islands. The draft report also warns that those islanders may not be alone in seeking refuge on the Australian mainland. "About 60,000 to 90,000 people from the Pacific islands may be exposed to flooding from sea-level rise each year by the 2050s," it says.

"This would place pressure internally on these countries and on surrounding nations (such as New Zealand and Australia) to help sustain communities or to consider emergency immigrants. Displacement of Torres Strait islanders to mainland Australia is also likely to occur within this time frame."

CSIRO scientist Donna Green is working with indigenous communities in remote northern Australia on adapting to climate change. She says the Torres Strait is one of the most vulnerable regions in the country. "While we don't have historical records of sea levels in the Torres Strait, we do know that climate change is causing sea levels to rise in this region and is increasing the intensity of extreme weather and tidal events," she says. "So it is likely that climate change is playing a part in these recent inundations."

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http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/not-waving-but-drowning-at-our-back-door/2006/08/11/1154803098721.html