Measuring the Multidimensional Impact of Drought on Regional Capacity

Drought has increasingly become a major issue in Australia and globally. Increased severity and longitude of drought and flash flooding are only predicted to get worse under expected climatic conditions. Whilst some countries are developing “plans” to reduce the impact of drought, the ability of communities to adapt and be resilient to drought, depends on the capacity and capability of the area. This study will look at the capacity of communities in the Murray Darling Basin, south east Australia to adapt to drought, specifically how their capacity changed as a result of the Millennium (2003-2009) drought. We create an index that can be used to differentiate the various determinates of capacity of areas to cope with the drought. Results indicate that areas with higher overall capacity adapted better to the drought, although the Murray Darling Basin suffered with higher income disparity and poverty rates compared to the nation.