Brisbane City Council’s popular Flood Resilient Suburbs Program is expanding to support apartment buildings and business owners with Brisbane Sustainability Agency and Brisbane Economic Development Agency as joint-delivery partners.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the program, delivered in partnership with Brisbane Sustainability Agency and Brisbane Economic Development Agency, has proven its ability to support home and business owners to better prepare and bounce back faster.

“We know the action items in the Flood Resilient Suburbs Program for residential and commercial properties work to help prepare for, respond to and recover from flooding events,” Cr Schrinner said.

“Brisbane is built on a floodplain so flooding in our city is unavoidable, but flood resilience offers a cost-effective way to prepare your property and business for flooding and return to normal operations or routines with the least amount of disruption possible,” he said.

Council launched the Flood Resilient Homes Pilot Program in 2018 and has seen 83 per cent of flood-affected participants provide positive feedback on the improved resilience of their property.

The Flood Resilient Suburbs – Apartments Program is currently focusing on apartment complexes with basements that are in areas with a 50 per cent annual chance of overland or creek flooding or a one per cent annual chance of river flooding.

Cr Schrinner said Council knows that in flood events, apartment buildings can experience flooding in basement areas which can cause residents in these complexes to be isolated or have building service outages. 

“Any apartment complexes within these areas will be able to access a free Building Resilience Assessment to learn more about their building’s flood risks and identify design, engineering and construction options to improve flood resilience,” he said.

The Flood Resilient Suburbs – Business Resilience Program will offer support to those local businesses impacted by the February 2022 floods via physical assessments or flood continuity planning.

Cr Schrinner said on offer were two new, free services to help local businesses bounce back from any future flood events and keep our economy strong.

“Similar to the Homes Program, businesses can now register for a free assessment delivered by flood-resilience experts, providing businesses with a tailored assessment of any physical changes or upgrades they can make to improve the resilience of their property,” he said.

“Alternatively, businesses can also register for a free Business Flood Continuity Plan to limit disruption to their regular business operations and have a plan in place to help alleviate financial stress.”

Cr Schrinner said Council had a range of free tools and information to help Brisbane residents, businesses and organisations understand their flood risk for their property and how they can prepare for future flood events including the Flood Awareness Map and FloodWise Property Reports.

“And no matter where in Brisbane you live, I encourage every resident to make sure they’re signed up to the Brisbane Severe Weather Alert Service so they’re receiving free alert notices for severe weather,” he said.

To find out more about the Flood Resilient Suburbs Apartment Program and to register interest to receive a free Building Resilience Assessment of the basement area of your apartment building, visit the Flood Resilient Suburbs – Apartments Program page or call Brisbane Sustainability Agency on 07 3007 7013.

For more information on Council’s Business Resilience Program please visit the Flood Resilient Suburbs – Business Resilience Program page or call the Brisbane Business Hotline on 133 263.