Review established to examine Ipswich’s 2022 flood response
26 April 2022
The city’s response and recovery to the recent flood event will be examined in a comprehensive review.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the Ipswich City Council-led review would gather first-hand knowledge and experience of Ipswich community members impacted by the flood event.
“There will be opportunities in coming months for people to be involved, online or in person,” Mayor Harding said.
“We value greatly the knowledge and experience of people in the community impacted by this flood, in helping us understand how to improve our city’s readiness and response to natural disaster.”
Mayor Harding said flood is a reality of life in Ipswich and the shared goal was for a city that was informed, ready and resilient.
“This year’s event saw a number of homes and businesses affected across the city. It required a full-scale response from all levels of government, community organisations, businesses and individuals,” Mayor Harding said.
“We want to understand what worked, what needs improvement, and how we can all work together when faced with adversity.”
Mayor Harding said the council review would also discuss potential actions to manage future floods.
“All three levels of government can consider ways to build resilience in our community, improve emergency responses as well as consult impacted communities on their experiences,” Mayor Harding said.
“We have seen recent initiatives in that space, such as the $741 million Resilient Residential Recovery Package announced by the Queensland Government and Australian Government.
“While flood-resilient home design, retrofitting and voluntary buybacks are great actions it is just one element of what our city may need to be more resilient to future flood.
“The Ipswich Integrated Catchment Plan, which council adopted in February this year, took a holistic approach and identified a suite of actions that would require collaboration between all levels of government and investment in our flood resilient future.”
A regional review is also being led by the Inspector-General Emergency Management. Council will support this review by publishing council’s submissions regarding preparation, emergency response and communication effectiveness.