This year’s devastating floods in South East Queensland will cost the state an estimated $7.7 billion (US$5.3 billion), according to an independent Deloitte Report recently released. The report looked into the financial, economic and social costs of the severe rainfall and flooding events that occurred between late February and early April and impacted 23 local…

The Australian state of Queensland has put forward a new support package to financially enable the state government to buy back homes of up to 500 flood victims. Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles said on March 19 that the state had asked the federal government to jointly fund a $771 million (US$572 million) support package…

Queenslanders reeling from deadly flooding have been warned to be wary of “claim farmers” who often show up following disasters to assist with insurance claims. Claim farmers present themselves as firms offering “claims management services” and act as a middleman between claimants and their insurance company for a fee. The warning comes as severe flooding…

As many communities are taking it into their own hands to rescue stranded residents in the current devastating floods, Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said civilians should be given training to provide emergency disaster support. “I met people in Queensland who jumped in their dinghy, were going around rescuing people off the top floor of…

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is ramping up support for flood-affected communities along the Australian east coast as residents criticise the government for not providing enough help. The ADF will more than double the number of personnel on the ground, from around 2,300 to 5,000 over the week, who will help with rescues, dropping off…

House prices in flood affected areas of Brisbane will take a short-term hit, but it was difficult to predict how the market would behave in the medium to long-term. Antonia Mercorella, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO, told The Epoch Times that while property prices would take an immediate hit, it was unlikely…

A man has died in southeast Queensland floods, taking the disaster death toll to 12, while another man remains missing. Police say the man and a woman, both in their 60s, were trying to cross a flooded section of MP Creek Rd in their car near Wondai, in the South Burnett region, about 5 p.m on…

Greater Sydney has been given a reprieve from the flooding hitting much of the northeast coast of New South Wales after less rainfall than predicted fell in the city overnight. Homes in the Hawkesbury-Nepean region have avoided destruction after the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) revised their forecast and said it was unlikely the water levels…

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the flood-hit areas in Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW) would receive further support from the defence force after flooding in the region continues to grow. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has 600 active personnel currently involved in rescue efforts, with people getting airlifted to safety from…

New South Wales (NSW) residents are bracing for unprecedented floods across the east coast, with thousands of residents under evacuation orders and entire suburbs underwater. The flood-prone suburb of Lismore in northeastern NSW remains under water as the Wilsons River reached two metres above the record flood level from 1954, peaking at 14.4 metres (47…