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South-East Queensland and northern NSW have been decimated over the past two weeks by a “rain-bomb” event that has caused record flooding throughout the region.
At the time of reporting, the Brisbane River has peaked 3.85 metres, with another significant peak anticipated to occur during the 9am high tide on Tuesday, 1 March.
Elsewhere in the region, the Mary River peaked at 22.9 metres on Sunday morning, inundating the nearby town of Gympie, while Lismore and surrounding regions on NSW North Coast have been severely impacted as the Wilsons River rose to 14.36 metres on Monday (28 February) afternoon, two metres higher than its previous peak set in 1954.
At the time of reporting, it is estimated that approximately 18,000 homes have been flooded across South-East Queensland since the region became victim of the weather event on 21 February. With acting Chief Superintendent Wildman detailing that although the weather system will continue to move further south, floodwaters will remain for a few more days, with flooding elements still set to hit the Gold Coast across the next 24 to 72 hours.
The unprecedented weather event has also affected approximately 14,000 people across Lismore and surrounding regions, and as conditions are expected to worsen, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has urged anyone in these areas to evacuate.
“If you are in one of those areas where there is an evacuation warning in place, please begin planning and preparing for evacuation,” he said.
“And if you can leave, and it is safe to do so, please, please leave.”
In response to the severe flooding in the region, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared an insurance catastrophe to aid all affected.
As of 28 February 2022, the ICA’s declaration will cover those affected by the flooding across South-East Queensland and the NSW Mid North Coast.
The ICA’s catastrophe declaration will see an escalation and prioritisation of the insurance industry’s response for affected policyholders, and the organisation has activated its disaster hotline to help all impacted by the flooding event.
Chief executive of the ICA Andrew Hall said: “The insurance industry has made this catastrophe declaration to activate services and support for affected homeowners and businesses and reassure them that their insurer is there to help.
“As many areas are currently inaccessible due to damage and floodwater and evacuation orders in Gympie, insurers are expecting further claims in coming days as emergency services allow residents to return to their properties to examine the extent of their damage and losses.”
For more information, you can contact the ICA’s hotline on – 1300 728 228.
In acknowledgement of the flooding affecting real estate businesses, agents, property managers, landlords, and tenants, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland has released a toolkit that can be found here.
More to come
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