The Brisbane City Council has released new flood maps which show just where the water reached during January’s disaster.

As part of a Flood Wise Property Report, around 60,000 residents will be able to use the information to better protect themselves in the future.

Dominique Wiehahn reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Many Brisbane residents have a clear idea just how high the January flood waters reached.

Sixty thousand of them can now access the information online as part of a Brisbane City Council initiative.

Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor: “It really does give people information they require to get on in a post flood environment and to set about the task of either raising homes or at least being aware of the impact on individual properties.”

Residents in flood affected areas can now see just where the waters came and where they could go in the future.

There were already maps from the 1974 floods, but these are far more informative and even give guidelines on how high new homes should be built so they don’t get flooded.

Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor: “It really does highlight the point that each event is very different in nature.”

The Brisbane Lord Mayor says it’s important residents affected by the floods are given as much help as they need if they intend on raising their existing homes and the council has adopted a temporary local planning instrument to allow this to happen.

Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor: “And that will be in place for one year, it will provide people with the ability to get on and to raise the level of their home.”

The report will enable residential properties to be raised to 9.5 metres without lodging a development application, one metre higher than previously allowed.

The reports don’t help Graceville resident Ian McDonald. He’s just raised his home after it was flooded.

Ian McDonald, Graceville resident: “I mean we worked it out for ourselves that that was one of the major defences we’d have going forward, to lift the house.”

He conceded the maps might help those moving into flood affected areas.

Ian McDonald, Graceville resident: “I don’t think they’ll help the people that live here particularly, we know, we know what happens here. I mean I guess it’ll help people who consider coming here.”

Anybody interested in looking at the maps can visit the Brisbane City Council website.

Dominique Wiehahn, QUT News.