Flood victims’ plea for action, help

Photos: Flooding in Redcliffe's Grant St in 2022.

Residents of a block of units at 20 Grant St, Redcliffe, are demanding action after flooding three times in the past three years.

Resident Rachael Greany, who has emailed ‘a formal demand for urgent action’ to Moreton Bay City Council, Federal Member for Petrie Luke Howarth and State Member for Redcliffe Kerri-Anne Dooley, says the property is now uninsurable and residents fear the next heavy downpour and high tide.

She has lived in the block of units for about five years and says they were inundated with more than 1.2m of stormwater twice on one day in 2022 and were flooded again on April 12, 2025.

“In the immediate aftermath (of 2022), with elections around the corner, we were visited by the Mayor, Councilors, media outlets, and community volunteers. We were promised that council would act to mitigate any future disasters. Those promises were empty,” Rachael says.

“We lost cars, furniture, personal belongings, white goods, and even our food. Insurance premiums skyrocketed. Many of us are still paying the price for something that could and should have been prevented.”

Residents of the unit complex now face a $100,000 insurance premium excess before repairs can begin following last month’s flood. They have also been told the building will become ‘uninsurable’ on May 24, 2025.

“We cannot live in our homes. We cannot sell them. We cannot insure them,” Rachael says.

She believes stormwater is to blame for the flooding, and says the network cannot cope with high tides, heavy rain and stormwater generated by a growing population and increased density.

“The drains all started to bubble up, so the water was backing up. What I believe is happening is we had a high tide … that water from the ocean backs up through the drains and the pumping station in the drains cannot handle the volume of water,” she explains.

“There was no flooding with the cyclone, so I do believe it is the water that comes up.”

Council says rain to blame

A Moreton Bay City Council spokesperson says: “The Redcliffe Automated Weather Station records indicate 47mm of rainfall over the Redcliffe Peninsula in just 30 minutes between 5.30pm and 6pm.

“The intensity of this rainfall event has been classified as exceeding the 1 per cent Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP). Given its topographical position and the potential flash flood impacts of this event, our flood mapping shows the potential for an inundation outcome.

“Flooding could be attributed to the extreme downpour, combined with the property being located near the lowest point of the street, and identified as a flood-prone area for many years including in multiple flood studies as far back as 2000.

“Given its topographical position, the property is considered to be at risk of both flash flooding and overland flow during significant rainfall events.”

The spokesperson says growing population and increased density across Moreton Bay has minimal impact on the drainage network connected to Grant St.

“Regular clearing and cleaning works continue to be undertaken on the larger culverts in this area,” the spokesperson says.

Rachael has also questioned the height at which units were built, which is lower that surrounding unit blocks in the street – built before hers.

“I’m the first one to put my hand up. I didn’t do flood checks. I didn’t think about in-town, inner city flooding,” Rachael says.

Frightening rescue

During this year’s flood, 80-year-old widow Veroncia Lapa had to be rescued by emergency services and relatives as 600mm of water flowed through her home, creating a water pressure lock of her front door.

Her sister Gabrielle Turnbull says she had to walk through knee-deep water to reach her sister’s building soon after 6pm and saw a stormwater drain blocked by debris from a recent tree removal in the street.

Gabrielle does not believe Veronica conducted flood searches when she bought the unit about one year ago, but was told the flood in 2022 was a “once in 100-year event” and would not happen again in her lifetime.

“I’m hoping the council will make sure that none of the residents are out-of-pocket and have the money (they need) to get out of it (the building),” she says.

“These are vulnerable people. It should never have happened. It’s not a weather event. I was a council-made event.”

Veronica is staying with family at present, while she searches for temporary accommodation.

Rachael and Gabrielle say they are investigating their legal options.

“It’s not just that you’ve lost your home, you’ve lost everything that you’ve worked your arse off for. We’re fighting for what’s right,” Rachael says.

“It’s not a blame game. It’s quite simply that we need help … you’ve done nothing, you can’t let the average person keep going through this and losing everything. It’s got to stop.”

The Council spokesperson says: “Council continues to engage with residents in Grant St, Redcliffe, and is currently in the process of responding to letters from the resident of 20 Grant St”.

Council says the Voluntary Home Buy-Back program, which was part of the Resilient Homes Fund initiative jointly delivery by the Federal and State Governments through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, closed in June 2023.

“Council has no control over how insurance companies determine and calculate their premiums for flood risk on insurance excess,” the spokesperson says.

“City of Moreton Bay has the most up-to-date flood mapping available for people to access and better understand their flood risk, following a major update to the City Flood Database.

“Data from rainfall events in recent years, as well as upgrades to technology and new national guidelines, have allowed Council to improve our City Flood Database using industry-leading methods for greater accuracy. Severe storms are often unpredictable and are more common than any other natural hazard.”