Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
With our subtropical climate and natural waterways, Brisbane residents have a truly unbeatable lifestyle.
However, the climate that defines our city also puts us at risk of severe weather events, including flooding.
Brisbane’s location on a floodplain means there’ll always be a risk of floods in Brisbane,
but there are plenty of ways to help minimise their impact on your home or business.
The first step is to be aware of risks to your property.
To make this easy, Brisbane City Council has created interactive flood awareness maps.
The maps allow you to:
Identify the flood risks to your property,
Identify the likely source of flood water and
Explore how historical floods have affected your local area.
The map is free to use and available on Council’s website or by clicking the link below.
Once you’ve clicked through the maps, enter your address to auto-locate your property.
The flood awareness map shows the likelihood of flooding using four different risk areas.
If your home is in a high-risk area, flooding is almost certain to occur in an average lifetime.
It’s important that you plan and prepare to minimize the impact on your home and family.
If you’re in a medium risk area, flooding is still likely to occur.
n low and very low risk areas, flooding is likely only in rare or extreme events but it may still occur.
It’s still important to understand how flooding could affect your suburb and wider community.
You can also use the maps to identify the “flooding sources” that may affect your property.
The source of flooding is important because flood waters behave differently and can impact your home in different ways.
There are four sources of flooding:
River flooding occurs when, after prolonged rain in the Brisbane catchment area,
the river reaches capacity and breaks its banks.
It can happen days after rains have finished as water makes its way downstream.
Creek flooding is caused by intense rain over a creek catchment.
Creek levels often rise very quickly. Overland flow occurs when run-off water travels over the ground during heavy rain.
It can be fast and unpredictable, influenced by the land, as well as storm water drains, roads, fences and even parked cars.
Storm tide flooding is caused by a low-pressure system or strong onshore winds forcing sea levels to rise.
It affects low-lying properties close to tidal areas or coastlines.
You can also use the interactive maps to explore Brisbane’s River floods in 1974 and 2011.
Now that you understand your flood risk, the next step is to find out how you can minimise the impact on your property.
To learn more, download the Flooding in Brisbane guides and watch the flood preparation videos for Residents and Businesses
on the Council website, or by using the links below.
You can also print a copy of your flood awareness map for your property
or download the FloodWise Property Report if you are thinking of building or renovating.
We can’t stop flooding, but by working together, we can help minimise its impact on our river city.