Queensland Floods 2023 Map

[Lucrecio Poinson]

Aseries of floods hit Queensland, Australia, beginning in December 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities.[2] At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected.[2] Damage initially was estimated at A$1 billion[3] before it was raised to $2.38 billion.[1] The estimated reduction in Australia's GDP is about A$30 billion.[4] As of March 2012, there were 33 deaths attributed to the floods, with a further three people still missing.[5]

Three-quarters of the council areas within the state of Queensland were declared disaster zones.[6] Communities along the Fitzroy and Burnett Rivers were particularly hard hit, while the Condamine, Ballone, and Mary Rivers recorded substantial flooding. An unexpected flash flood caused by a thunderstorm raced through Toowoomba's central business district. Rainfall from the same storm devastated communities in the Lockyer Valley. A few days later, thousands of houses in Ipswich and Brisbane were inundated as the Brisbane River rose and Wivenhoe Dam used a considerable proportion of its flood mitigation capacity. Volunteers were quick to offer assistance, and sympathy was expressed from afar. A large mobilisation of the Australian Defence Force was activated and a relief fund created. The head of the recovery taskforce was Major General Michael Slater. The Queensland Reconstruction Authority (CEO was Graeme Newton) was formed to coordinate the rebuilding program beyond the initial task force, and a Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate all matters related to the floods.

The state's coal industry was particularly hard hit. The Queensland floods were followed by the 2011 Victorian floods which saw more than fifty communities in western and central Victoria also grapple with significant flooding.

On 26 February 2021 the result of legal action, started in 2014 and won in 2019, was a partial settlement of A$440 million in compensation for thousands of flood victims, from the Queensland government and SunWater. The remaining $440 million is owed by State-owned dam operator Seqwater who is appealing the decision for which a hearing is scheduled for May. The appeal was successful.

Isolated flooding started across parts of the state in early December. On 23 December, a monsoonal trough crossed the coast from the Coral Sea, bringing torrential rain that fell in a broad swath from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Gold Coast. The widest range of intense rainfall occurred on 27 December (with very high daily totals recorded on 25 December, near where Cyclone Tasha crossed the coast).[10] By 30 December vast areas of Southern and Central Queensland were affected by the flood.[19] The conditions led to a large influx of snakes in the Rockhampton area, as well as some crocodiles.[20]

Flooding was widespread across Queensland and New South Wales from the end of December 2010 to January 2011 with several separate rain events causing rivers to rise over a lengthy period.[16] Many places, including Condamine and Chinchilla were inundated by flood waters on multiple occasions.[19] About 300 roads were closed, including nine major highways.[21]

The flooding initially forced the evacuation of 1,000 people from Theodore and other towns, described as unprecedented by the acting chief officer of the Emergency Management Queensland.[23] The military transported residents by helicopter to an evacuation centre at Moura. The total evacuation of a Queensland town was a first for the state.[24] Major flooding at Theodore persisted for more than two weeks.[10]

Emerald was cut off by road on 29 December as the Nogoa River rose.[25] By the next day, the river surpassed the 2008 flood peak level of 15.36 metres (50.4 ft).[26] At the peak of the flooding, 80% of the town was flooded, the worst the town ever experienced.[27] Twelve hundred Emerald residents registered as evacuees.[28]

Rockhampton had nearly a week to prepare for an expected flood peak from the Fitzroy River, which courses through the centre of the city.[29] The airport was closed on 1 January.[30] A metal flood barrier was erected around the terminal to prevent flood-borne debris from causing damage to the structure. An evacuation centre was set up at the Central Queensland University.[28] The Bruce Highway leading south out of Rockhampton was closed to traffic. The river peaked at 9.2 metres (30 ft), just short of the predicted 9.4-metre (31 ft) maximum.[31]

The Port of Gladstone reduced its export capacity because the coal stockpiles at the port were saturated and further coal deliveries could not be made by rail.[32] The Goonyella railway line which serves a number of coal mines in the Bowen Basin was closed for one week and shipments of grain were also delayed.[33]

Bundaberg experienced severe flooding, the worst in 40 years,[29] after the Burnett River flooded the city, although the Paradise Dam reservoir contributed to some flood mitigation.[16] This resulted in the evacuation of 300 homes.[29] The Bundaberg Port, a major sugar exporting facility, was closed late in December 2010 as flooding deposited silt in the port, forcing its closure. The port re-opened in early March 2011 after successful dredging operations allowed ships to berth.[36]

Flooding in Dalby was the worst since 1981.[38] The town's water purification system was flooded, resulting in water restrictions that hampered clean-up efforts. 112,500 litres (24,700 imp gal; 29,700 US gal) of water were transported to the town of 14,000 residents.[39] Warwick was isolated when all roads into the town were cut off.[40]

The Macintyre River, which forms part of the border between the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland, began to threaten the town of Goondiwindi on 13 January. While the town is protected by an 11-metre (36 ft) levee, the local hospital and aged care home were evacuated as a precaution and an evacuation centre was established.[44]

The surge associated with rainfall which fell on the eastern side of the range passed through the Lockyer Valley town of Withcott, where the force of the water pushed cars into shops and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people. The scene was described by an onlooker as "like Cyclone Tracy has gone through it ... If you dropped an atom bomb on it, you couldn't tell the difference."[49] Nearby Helidon had several homes and farms flooded but did not break the main creek bank and enter the town. It was cut off from all sides by destroyed roads. Grantham was also devastated by the surge of water. Houses were left crumpled by what Premier of Queensland Anna Bligh described as an "inland tsunami". According to local media, the flood waters had reached a height of 7 or 8 metres (23 or 26 ft) by the time it struck Grantham.[50] The peak discharge rate around Withcott and Grantham where Lockyer Creek is joined by Gatton Creek, was estimated to be 3,500 m3 second.[51] At least 100 people were evacuated to the Helidon Community Hall.[52] Nine people were confirmed dead, and many more feared dead among 66 reported missing.[53] The body of one victim washed away at Grantham was recovered 80 kilometres (50 mi) downstream and Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson warned that some bodies may never be found.[54] Nearby Gatton saw voluntary evacuations as the Lockyer Creek rose to a record height of 18.92 metres (62.1 ft), exceeding the previous record set in the 1893 Queensland floods.[43]

Flooding began to affect low-lying areas of Brisbane on the morning of 11 January 2011. By around 2:30 p.m. AEST, the Brisbane River broke its banks leading to evacuations in the Brisbane CBD and the suburbs of Fortitude Valley and West End.[56][57] An evacuation centre was established for flood-affected residents at the RNA Showgrounds in Bowen Hills.[58] Residents of 2,100 Brisbane streets were advised to evacuate prior to the arrival of floods, which struck the city on 12 January. Lord Mayor Campbell Newman stated than an estimated 20,000 homes would be affected when the river peaked on 14 January.[59] He subsequently advised that the Brisbane River transport infrastructure had been "substantially destroyed".[60]

The Brisbane River peaked on 13 January at a lower level than predicted,[19][61] but still 20,000 houses in Brisbane were inundated. Some of the Brisbane suburbs worst affected by the floods were St Lucia, West End, Rocklea and Graceville.[62] The floods damaged some of Brisbane's icons. The Brisbane Riverwalk, a floating walkway over the Brisbane River linking the inner city neighbourhoods of Fortitude Valley and New Farm, broke up, with a section forming a 300-metre (980 ft) "floating missile" that threatened the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges. The largest part of the floating boardwalk was safely guided under the bridge by a tugboat and past other infrastructure before being safely secured.[63] Brisbane's major Rugby league and Soccer (Association Football) venue, Suncorp Stadium, filled with water up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) deep, reaching the third or fourth row of seats.[64]

With the flood peaking at 4.46 metres (14.6 ft) in Brisbane City, the flood level was about the tenth-highest in the city's history, several metres below the 1890 flood and the two major floods in 1893.[61][65] Some unique field measurements about the peak of the floods showed very substantial sediment fluxes in the Brisbane River flood plains consistent with the murky appearance of floodwaters.[66][67] The field deployment showed also some unusual features of flood flow in an urban environment linked with some local topographic effects. Parts of the western suburbs of Brisbane were cut off for three days. Resident of suburbs including Bellbowrie, Karana Downs, Moggill and Pullenvale were running low on food and other items when Moggill Road was cut, until the Australian Army was able to reach the area on 15 January with supplies.[68]

The Bremer River at Ipswich, 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Brisbane, reached a height of 19.4 metres (64 ft) on 12 January, inundating the central business district and at least 3,000 houses.[69] One third of the city was reported to be underwater and over 1,100 people took shelter at evacuation centres.[70] At Minden, on the border of Ipswich City, a four-year-old boy was swept away by floodwaters when he fell from a rescue boat.[71] A man in his fifties died when he accidentally drove into floodwaters in the Ipswich suburb of Wulkuraka.[72] The worst affected areas of Ipswich were the suburbs of Goodna and Gailes.[73] The flooding led to a rare plausible claim of sharks swimming in a flooded urban area, with reports of bull sharks swimming in two streets in Goodna's center.[74]

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