Funding to help at-risk suburbs

Two suburbs will be at the centre of Moreton Bay City Council studies to safeguard communities from coastal erosion, storm tides and rising sea levels.

Council has received $116,000 from the State Government and committed $84,000 itself to fund the pilot Local Resilience Plans.

With sea levels predicted to rise by up to 0.8m by 2100, the projects will focus on parts of Scarborough and Dohles Rocks (Griffin).

“These pilot study projects will help each community better understand natural hazard risks, how to prepare for them and adapt to climate change,” Mayor Peter Flannery said.

“We are developing individualised Local Resilience Plans for these two areas and the funding allows us to implement these with residents.”

Local experience, knowledge and insights will be used to address risk, exposure and vulnerability, but actions will tackle "disaster preparedness, resilience and adaptation".

“We’ll make sure that immediate, medium and longer-term actions are both practical and effective for reducing risks for households and individual residents,” Mayor Flannery said.

“Council will investigate infrastructure to minimise natural hazards impacts with plans to show how each community can keep impacts at tolerable levels and be resilient to natural hazards.”

Council’s Living Coast Plan, which was endorsed in May, also identifies Local Resilience Plans for Donnybrook, Meldale, Toorbul and Beachmere.

In total, 10 councils are sharing $3.3 million from the Queensland Government’s $20 million QCoast2100 program to help protect communities.

These include sand placement for eroded beaches and dune resilience at South Mission Beach, Bargara and Lucinda as well as riverbank and estuarine work at Noosa, the Gold Coast and Redlands.

For more on the Living Coast Plan and your community’s adaptation pathway click here.