On Tuesday NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet described the floods occurring across New South Wales as a “one-in-1000-year event”. However, since Perrottet made that claim, several meteorologists attempted to set the record straight. We’ve sorted through all the hectic scientific lingo and come up with this explainer on why framing the NSW floods in such a way could be misleading.
There are various ways meteorologists assess the risk of a damaging weather event occurring. Generally speaking, the higher the projected maximum flood level, the lower the risk. For example, a 20-metre high flood is far less likely than half a metre of rainwater.
