Learning from the experiences of residents: January to July 2022 floods

Following a series of flooding events in New South Wales and Queensland during the period January to July 2022, Natural Hazards Research Australia funded a large post-event research project to understand and learn from the experiences of those affected. A major aim of the study was to identify insights of relevance to policy and practice across emergency management with a goal of using these findings to inform a broad set of stakeholder organisations and provide an evidence base to support future improvements in community safety in future severe natural hazard events. In-depth interviews were conducted between August and October 2021 with 194 residents affected by these floods. An online survey was completed by 430 flood-affected residents during the period November 2022 to February 2023. The data collected included details of prior flood exposure, damage or losses from the floods, information and warnings received, protective actions taken, decisions and actions taken during the flood and details about the clean-up, community and other sources of support as well as flood resilient adaptations made to homes before the floods and any future (planned) adaptations and actions. Three reports are available: a summary of policy implications, a main report detailing key findings and a technical report that includes summary data.