2022 Queensland floods to cost $7.7bn in damage – report

The deadly floods that hit almost two dozen Queensland council areas earlier this year, affecting more than 500,000, will cost the state $7.7 billion, it has been revealed.

Deadly floods which smashed southeast Queensland earlier this year will cost a mammoth $7.7bn in social, financial and economic damage, a new report has revealed.

Analysis of human and social impacts, damage to residential, commercial and public infrastructure as well as industry disruption and the emergency response and clean-up has been undertaken by Deloitte, which found the widespread extent of the event.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said Deloitte considered the social, financial and economic costs of the 2022 southeast Queensland floods which hit 23 local government areas.

“The key findings of this report highlight the sheer extent of the damage caused by these floods,” he said.

A resident inspects a flooded home in the Brisbane suburb of Fairfield during extensive flooding earlier this year. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Deloitte estimates more than 500,000 people were affected by the floods in some way, with an estimated human and social cost of $4.5bn.

The effect on homes and commercial businesses has been estimated at $2bn with about 18,000 homes or businesses affected.

“Of that, the Insurance Council of Australia reported more than 97,000 residential and commercial claims had been lodged with a total value of $1.36bn leaving approximately $646m in uninsured residential and commercial losses,” Mr Miles said.

The economic impact on Queensland small businesses was also significant, with more than 4500 affected and total damage of approximately $324m.

Queensland’s agricultural sector had more than 2250 primary producers affected across 17 local government areas with losses tipped at more than $250m.

“You only need to look at the price of lettuce in our supermarkets to understand the impact this far-reaching, long-lasting event had on our farmers with many of them either losing their crops or losing the capacity to manage their crops,” Mr Miles said.

The deputy premier said the Deloitte report was released at the same time as the State Recovery and Resilience Plan 2022, which details the recovery efforts to date and the longer-term plan for Queensland’s recovery.