As record-breaking floods in North Queensland ease and water levels recede, the focus now turns to the mop-up and recovery. Residents have been supporting each other through the flood crisis, such as processing donated goods, conducting welfare checks on neighbours and helping each other clean up homes.
Such community resilience in disasters is vital. Successive inquiries have shown we can’t rely solely on emergency services in large disasters. Crews can’t get to every community straight away, or provide support to every household that needs assistance.
Our research shows how communities can be supported to respond in a crisis – during the event, in the immediate aftermath and beyond.
