National safety measures for flood events must be evaluated and revised, according to a report by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Co-operative Research Centre (CRC).

There is a dearth of information on flood rescues and the effectiveness of education, incentives and structural measures aimed at saving lives, it says.

A national database of flood rescues should be set up to help improve mitigation measures, according to the report, based on a study of deaths from floods between 1900 and last year.

“In terms of data, recent coronial records are extremely detailed concerning the circumstances surrounding the deceased. However, the record of rescues remains poor and rests within agencies that may have limited capacity to collect and store the information.”

The CRC says resources should be directed to evaluating the following areas:

• Messaging and terminology used with different socio-demographic groups, and also culturally and linguistically diverse groups;
• The efficacy of education, incentives and enforcement;
• Signage options and smart technology to warn people about floodwater and dangers;
• The decision-making of people who drive through floodwater;
• The decision-making dynamic between passengers and drivers, and how passengers can be better educated and empowered to influence driver behaviour; and
• Available rescue and near-miss data.

Advances in communication technology, notably near-universal mobile phone ownership and widespread use of social media, have improved the delivery of emergency warnings, including for evacuation purposes, the CRC says.

There were 1859 recorded flood fatalities between 1900 and last year. About 55% died from drowning, the study says. NSW and Queensland account for 74.5% of the death toll.