August 27, 2026
Extreme rainfall can have greater impacts when it is part of a compound event. When multiple heavy rainfall events occur in quick succession, river levels are higher; when extreme rainfall follows drought, it can be accompanied by debris flows, landslides and water quality impacts. And when extreme rain co-occurs with extreme wind, the risk of water ingress, treefalls and power interruptions are increased.
Our Hub researchers have collaborated with decision makers to identify the most critical extreme rainfall events and develop new ways to measure and analyse them. By focusing on real-world case studies, we’ve gained insights into the factors that make these events particularly damaging, such as their frequency, duration, and interactions with other hazards.
Join this first in our series of two rainfall webinars to find out more about these impactful compound extreme rainfall events. Register HERE >
Dr Acacia Pepler, Bureau of Meteorology
Acacia Pepler is a senior research scientist at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and co-lead of the NESP project Extreme Rainfall in Compound Events. Her research focusses on heavy rainfall and other extreme weather in Australia, the weather systems which cause them, and how they are changing in a changing climate. She completed her PhD at UNSW in 2017, with a thesis focussed on East Coast Lows.
Dr Chiara Holgate, Senior Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century
Dr Chiara Holgate connects weather with water resources. Her research investigates the weather system processes that cause hydroclimatological extremes like droughts and floods and their impact on water availability, and explores how these processes are being shaped by climate change. Chiara is a Senior Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Weather of the 21st Century. She has a PhD in Hydrology and Climate Science from the Australian National University and has previously worked as a Research Scientist at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Prior to research Chiara worked as a Hydrologist and Water Resources Engineer at a global engineering consulting firm where she provided advice to government and industry in a variety of areas, including flood risk, environmental hazard strategies, and water demand, availability and quality assessment. Chiara was named as a 2022/2023 Superstar of STEM by Science and Technology Australia.
Dr Deepashree Dutta, Australian National University
Dr Deepashree Dutta is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University. She specialises in climate modelling, with a focus on key physical processes in the weather and climate system and how they respond to different external forcings. As part of the Extreme Rainfall in Compound Events project, Deepashree works closely with stakeholders to develop new methods for characterising variability and trends in the temporal clustering of high-impact heavy rainfall events. She obtained her PhD from the University of New South Wales in 2022.
