Brisbane 2022 floods: Thousands of residents still homeless, in limbo

Red tape, insurance wrangles, builder shortages and supply chain delays mean thousands are still in limbo a year on from the devastating South East Queensland floods.

• Tragic timeline: How floods unfolded
• Pictures: Flood destruction from air

Thousands of flood-stricken Queenslanders remain in limbo a year on from South East Queensland’s devastating floods as red tape, insurance wrangles, builder shortages and supply chain delays prolong their agony.

Many are still trying to sell their properties under the state government’s $741m flood buyback and repair scheme, while others who have chosen to rebuild are still not back in their homes.

The state government admits the scheme has been hit by delays in processing insurance claims and problems obtaining builders and materials, with victims slamming the “bureaucratic nightmare”.

Major insurer Suncorp said about 20 per cent of its thousands of flood-affected customers were yet to return to their homes.

Just 277 Queenslanders have successfully applied to have their flooded homes raised or retrofitted under the Resilient Homes Fund.

The 2022 floods affected an estimated 7000 Queensland homes and 1000 commercial buildings.

The floods, which smashed South East Queensland and northern NSW last February and March, were the costliest insured event in Australian history and the world’s second-costliest disaster in 2022, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.

They triggered 239,538 insurance claims totalling $5.75bn, the council said.

Flood-hit Queenslanders made almost 115,000 claims totalling more than $2.9bn.

Flooding at Rocklea in Brisbane’s south last February

As of Friday, almost 6000 people had registered for the Resilient Homes Fund, with 648 wanting their homes bought back, 1985 applying for retrofitting, 1467 seeking to have their home raised and 806 unsure what they wanted.

A total of 478 homes across 11 local government areas have been valued for buybacks, with 386 offers presented and 242 accepted.

Eighty-seven sales have settled and six homes have been demolished.

Deagon resident Aurelie Beeston said her home was “still a shell” and she and other flood-affected residents across Brisbane were “really disappointed” with the Resilient Homes Fund.

“There have been a lot of announcements made in the press about the fund but the reality for flood victims has been a lot of red tape, waiting for months to get an assessment done, long wait times to get a report … and very little communication,” she said.

“Homeowners have been waiting for months to have their home assessed or to receive their (quite basic) home report. There is a lot of misinformation or miscommunication, leaving people very confused about the process.”

Ms Beeston said “very few” homes in Deagon and Brighton were eligible for raising and the retrofitting process was “a bureaucratic nightmare that people are not willing to go through”.

“We just wish the fund was run to the benefit of the flood victims instead of becoming another really stressful and anxiety-inducing experience,” she said.

But Auchenflower’s Hannah Caller, who with husband Shane successfully sold their home to Brisbane City Council last month, said the buyback scheme was their “saving grace” and they were “really happy” despite delays waiting for insurance processing to be resolved.

Surf lifesavers in the streets of Toowong last February

Queensland Reconstruction Authority acting CEO Jimmy Scott said valuation inspections were continuing across affected local government areas and while some buyback purchases would be pushed through quickly, “some may take time”.

“We expect more homeowners to accept these life-changing offers in the coming weeks and months,” he said.

Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni said the government scheme was “progressing well” but called for more tradespeople “from across the nation” to get involved in the rollout.

“While rebuilding 5000 homes doesn’t happen overnight, it’s important that every one of those homeowners is given options that suited them, not a rushed ‘one size fits all’ approach,” he said.

A Public Works department spokesman said some homeowners were experiencing delays clarifying insurance cover and there were “ongoing challenges sourcing building quotes”.

“The program team has been working closely with insurers and the building industry to promote the program and understand challenges such as supply chain disruptions and skills shortages,” he said.

“Our assessors have also been talking individually to homeowners and helping them through the process.”

Suncorp head of disaster response Cath Stewart said about 19,000 flood-affected Queenslanders were back in their homes.

“About four in five of our customers have had their homes repaired, so we are making good progress to get everyone back as quickly as we can,” she said.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the Resilient Homes Fund was the first of its kind in Australia and “has the potential to truly change people’s lives”.

Hannah and Shane Caller’s Auchenflower home was recently bought as part of the flood buyback. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

YEARS OF MEMORIES WASHED AWAY

Hannah and Shane Caller say leaving their first home in Australia – the home where their four-year-old son was born – was heartbreaking.

But the British migrants say they could never return to the house in leafy Auchenflower after it was devastated in last year’s floods.

Rather than try to rebuild, the couple sold the Torwood St property to Brisbane City Council as part of the state’s $741m flood buyback scheme.

“There’s no way I can live there – I literally have PTSD every time it rains,” Mrs Caller said. “It’s horrific.”

The couple, who moved to Australia in 2014, said they knew about the 2011 floods but bought the Auchenflower house on assurances from insurers and real estate agents that it was a “once in a 100 years (deluge) and it will never go under again” after major mitigation works.

“Lo and behold, it did … I’ve never seen so much water,” Mrs Caller said.

After watching the water levels in Torwood St steadily rise on February 27, the Callers frantically began sandbagging and moving furniture and other valuables upstairs.

“It got to about 6pm and the water came straight over the top of the sandbags,” Mrs Caller said.

“I got a bag together just in case and then we heard the fridge downstairs fall over. We looked at each other and said ‘we need to leave’.

The Callers’ house underwater during last year’s floods

“As we got downstairs, the water was already over waist height on me.”

The Callers negotiated floodwaters to get to a friend’s house where they spent the night before Shane returned the next day in a canoe to pick up important belongings left behind in the chaos.

When they finally made it back to the house a week later, it was a scene of absolute devastation.

“The water got up to 2.5m – it just avoided getting upstairs but downstairs was completely and utterly destroyed,” Mrs Caller said.

“It had pulled the ceiling down when the water had receded, so the ceiling was on top of everything.

“The amount of precious stuff we lost, like family photos and Tom’s baby clothes, was devastating.”

Mrs Caller said they were told by a senior disaster official that Torwood St’s drainage system was heritage-listed and could never cope with a major flood “so it’s going to keep happening again and again”.

“I’ve cried a lot about it,” she said.

“This was our first house in Australia, it’s the house where Tom was born, and that’s the hardest thing to lose – all the memories.

“But the biggest thing is that the three of us are still together and we’re safe.

“We can build memories somewhere else.”

Gallery: Brisbane flood destruction from the air

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Originally published as Brisbane 2022 floods: Thousands of residents still homeless, in limbo