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In January 2011, Brisbane, Australia, experienced its first significant flooding in almost four decades. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire conducted in four affected inner western suburbs 7 months after the flood. These locations were specifically chosen as the residents within these communities come from a range of demographic, social, and economic backgrounds. The research utilised a mixed methods approach involving a quantitative questionnaire and qualitative interviews. This paper examines residents’ experience of the flood, their thoughts on risk reduction and insurance, what factors helped or hindered response and adaptation to flood risk, and how to articulate shared responsibility for reducing flood risk. Assessing gender, age, income, and previous flood experience, it finds that those with previous flood experience were more likely to have flood insurance but less likely to have taken precautions to prepare for the flood. While almost three-quarters of respondents said they were aware of the flood risk when they moved to the area, they were nonetheless surprised by and largely unprepared for the 2011 flood. The implications of these findings for future flood risk reduction are discussed.

Migration out of hazard-prone areas presents significant opportunities for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Alongside and intermingled with opportunistic migration there has always been relocation to escape, particularly from calamity, disaster and warfare. As climate change is considered a likely driver of migration, the literature encompasses a debate as to whether or not migration can be considered to be adaptation. This paper investigates the concept of voluntary within-country migration as an adaptation strategy to reduce disaster risk in Australia. We refer to this internal migration as relocation. The paper examines results of research carried out in Australia at the time of recent and extensive disasters, where opportunities were presented to examine household attitudes towards relocation in the face of future disasters of similar extent. Individuals׳ attitudes towards relocation were ascertained within an adaptation and mitigation context, at a time of emerging longer-term climate change government policy that advocates retreat from hazard-prone locations. The paper examines demographic data to reveal who is likely to leave or stay. Policy implications of relocation strategies as climate change adaptation strategy within a developed nation are discussed. This research concludes that relocation is a strategy available to some as part of an extensive range of responses to extreme weather events but undertaking unsupported resettlement is not always an option for reasons of family commitment, livelihood opportunities, financial constraints and emotional ties. Those who remain, and those who leave a hazard-prone location may both demonstrate a capacity for adaptation and resilience.

This paper presents research into four key stakeholders in flood risk management in Australia: local councils, the insurance industry, the State Emergency Service (SES), and local residents; examining the perception of their own roles and responsibilities, and those of the other stakeholders. Key informant interviews were conducted in four locations—Brisbane and Emerald, in Queensland, Dora Creek, in New South Wales, and Benalla, in Victoria. We find that understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder varied considerably between research participants. Insurance representatives felt their concerns about increasing flood risk costs were unheeded until the 2010–2011 floods made them the “canary in the coal mine”. Councils felt they had limited options for reducing flood risk. SES representatives felt they were too relied upon for event response, with requests for assistance outstripping their capacity to assist, and many residents were uncertain how to prepare for flood, relying on emergency agencies and the local council to protect them. Key lessons for flood risk management in Australia are (a) an urgent need for all stakeholders to better understand each others’ roles and responsibilities; and (b) residents must take greater responsibility for their own personal protection. Only then can the vision of shared responsibility presented by the 2009 National Strategy for Disaster Resilience be achieved.

Widespread flooding across eastern Australia between November 2010 and February 2011 has again highlighted the country's susceptibility to natural disasters. The floods have also triggered discussion about flood awareness, risk information, and the role and responsibility of governments, insurance providers and residents. This paper examines the availability of flood hazard information on local government websites in Australia; it was completed in mid-2010 before the 2010–2011 flooding. The quality and accessibility of information is discussed, as are variations based on state and population size of different Local Government Areas (councils). Particular attention is given to those areas that experienced recent flooding, as well as to known areas of concentrated risk. There are large gaps in information availability, with less than 50% of councils provided flood risk information. A higher percentage of councils in the more populous states, some of which also have higher flood risk, provide inform...

The Queensland (northeast Australia) wet season and Victorian (southeast Australia) summer of 2010/11 were record-breaking periods. Based on climate models, the IPCC (2012) argues with medium confidence that anthropogenic influence has contributed to rainfall extremes. The research applied a mixed methods approach whereby different qualitative (face-to-face interviews, open response questions within questionnaires) and quantitative (closed questions within questionnaires) methods contributed to different aspects of the study. Many respondents (43%) were living in a singlestorey house (i.e. not raised on stumps or stilts), a single-storey duplex or a ground floor unit. As many Australian disasters occur during the summer when people are on holiday or absent from the community, a network of contacts would be extremely useful.