A long-awaited report into the deadly Grantham floods has found no one could have prevented the devastation.

Walter Sofronoff Q.C., who led the Commission of Inquiry, says the storm was a freak event of nature.

12 people died when floodwaters tore through the small town in January 2011.

Simona Varga reports.

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After almost five years in the waiting, and $2.5 million later, the floods have been labelled an act of God.

In January 2011 a wall of water swept down the Lockyer Valley claiming 12 lives.

Annastacia Palaszczuk, Queensland Premier: “I hope that this inquiry does give some closure to the people, to the families that went through this horrific ordeal.”

It was suggested that a levy associated with the Grantham quarry may have been to blame.

But Commissioner Walter Sofronoff ruled that out.

Walter Sofronoff QC, Inquiry Commissioner: “The water goes straight into the creeks, the creeks then lead into the Lockyer Creek, the Lockyer Creek runs past Grantham, and there you are.”

The freak flood is being compared to a similar event in 1893 but no lives were lost.

Commissioner Sofronoff has made no recommendations to suggest how the community could be more prepared in the future.

He stressed, due to the nature of the flood nobody could have done anything.

The courage of the Grantham community was recognised in this book published a year after the tragedy.

Amanda Gearing, Author ‘The Torrent’: “The deaths in Grantham cannot be permitted to become a mere statistic.”

The government fully backs the findings.

Annastacia Palaszczuk, Queensland Premier: “They have had a chance to have their voices heard and that’s the very best that I can do for my government.”

What residents are being asked to do now is to understand their environment so that they can keep themselves and their families safe in the future.

Simona Varga, QUT News.