Queensland Floods: A Case Study of Social Impacts and Resilience

This case study examines the social impacts of flooding in Queensland, Australia, focusing on community vulnerability, adaptive capacity, and resilience. It highlights the significant social impacts of floods, including loss of life, property damage, health issues, and psychological effects, as well as the disruption of livelihoods and displacement of communities. The study emphasizes the importance of community resilience in recovering from flood events and discusses government initiatives like the Natural Disaster Mitigation Program aimed at reducing flood impacts. Ultimately, the case study underscores the need for a detailed assessment of the social impacts of flooding in Queensland to inform effective management strategies and support affected communities, with the original document being available on Desklib.

Running Head: FLOODING IN QUEENSLAND 1
Flooding in Queensland
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Introduction
Climate change around the world has made many parts of the world experience extreme
events over the past few years. This is bound to increase in this century as the weather patterns
continue to change. Australia is no exception in experiencing extreme events such as flooding
and more so in Queensland. The purpose of this paper therefore is to examine the social impacts
brought about by floods in Australia, the vulnerability of the communities, adaptive capacity and
how societies adjust to these events in terms of resilience. These paper contains brief information
on topics to be covered in the case study research.
Community Vulnerability and Social Impacts
Vulnerability, in this case, can be defined as the lack of capacity by a community to
perform important adjustments on how to manage an incoming disaster. Community systems
designed to recover from emergencies are being overpowered by these extreme events brought
about by climate change. Vulnerability for this particular study will be covered in five main
topics which are; setting in terms of physical environment, shelter in terms of buildings for
homes, utility infrastructure which include water and telecommunication, security measured in
terms of health and wealth and society which include the community welfare groups (Apan,
2010).
Floods impact the society in a big way. Some of the effects of floods include loss of life,
destruction of property, worsening of health conditions, psychological impacts to the affected
individuals among other indirect impacts. Floods also lead to loss of livelihoods where the
impacts have been severe thus disrupting power-lines and infrastructure. Resettlement is a
common phenomenon when it comes to areas prone to flooding. Resettlement due to floods

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brings about issues of food security, increased conflicts between communities, scramble for
social amenities among other impacts (Chiefscientist.qld.gov.au, 2018).
The resilience of a community in such disasters plays a major role in recovering from a
flood event. This is developed over times in communities that have experienced such a disaster
before. People from a community with more resilience are less affected psychologically and have
a sense of responsibility in mitigating such events (Chiefscientist.qld.gov.au, 2018).
Significance of the Study
An estimated $377 million is lost through flood-related issues every year in Australia
(Chiefscientist.qld.gov.au, 2018). Floods have accounted for more than 29% of the natural
disasters in Australia with Queensland experiencing the most losses. In the 2008 flood, both the
local and state government lost more than $234 million from damaged infrastructure in
Queensland alone (Apan, 2010).
There have been efforts to mitigate this disaster and reduce its impacts by the government
bodies. Natural Disaster Mitigation Program (NMDP) was formed to deal with disasters that
occur naturally such as floods. Regional Flood Mitigation Program was formed later and
incorporated in NDMP. Its purpose is to raise community awareness as well as funding flood-
related measure projects such as the construction of levees, flood control dams and house rising
(Apan, 2010).
Conclusion
Flood mitigation in Queensland is an expensive task for the local communities, the state,
and the local governments. It has adverse effects on the local societies who have had to put up
with these events and others have been forced to move to other parts that may be considered safe.

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This affects the growth of the affected areas such as Charleville and Mackay. A detailed case
study is, therefore, necessary to assess the social impacts of flooding in this area and how they
can be managed.

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References
Apan, A. (2010). The 2008 floods in Queensland: A case study of vulnerability, resilience and
adaptive capacity (pp. 4-94). Queensland: National Climate Change Adaptation Research
Facility. Retrieved from
https://www.nccarf.edu.au/sites/default/files/attached_files_publications/
Apan_2010_The_2008_Floods_in_Queensland.pdf
Chiefscientist.qld.gov.au. (2018). What are the consequences of floods? (Office of the
Queensland Chief Scientist). Retrieved from
https://www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au/publications/understanding-floods/flood-
consequences/