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Above-average rainfall and temperatures are predicted across the state in coming months, prompting fresh calls for residents to prepare for possible flooding, storms or other natural disasters.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast for Queensland follows major fires on Moreton Island, in the Western Downs and near Bundaberg on the long weekend. A total fire ban remains in place for Brisbane.
“Rainfall is likely to be above average for large parts of eastern Australia, including Queensland, from now until at least January,” senior meteorologist Laura Boekel said on Tuesday morning.
Total fire ban signs at a Brisbane barbecue area on Tuesday. Credit: Felicity Caldwell
“Both minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to be above average for large parts of Queensland over the coming months.
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“During the warmer months, severe thunderstorms are also more common, bringing heavy rainfall, damaging winds, large hail, and the risk of flooding.”
Boekel’s comments were made as part of the “Get Ready” government campaign encouraging Queenslanders to make preparations for natural disasters. They came after a similar plea from Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.
“We want to make sure that people are aware that it can be any kind of natural disaster that comes our way,” Schrinner told ABC radio.
“We started this year with a cyclone that no one expected; we’ve just had over the weekend bushfires raging.”
Schrinner said Brisbane City Council had written to state and federal governments to inquire about re-running the land buyback scheme for flood-affected homes in the city, following its popularity in 2023.
Kylie Macfarlane, deputy CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia, revealed on Tuesday natural disasters had accounted for about $2 billion worth of losses across Queensland in the past 12 months.
She said governments needed to formulate a long-term plan to combat increasing natural disasters.
“We know the only way to bring insurance costs down sustainably in the long term is for governments at all levels to be making investments in critical mitigation infrastructure,” Macfarlane told 4BC radio.
“That could be flood levies or dams. It might be raising homes or retrofitting them,” she said. “We’ve got nearly 100,000 businesses and homes in Queensland that are a severe or extreme risk of flood. It might be buying back those homes and moving those communities to a safer area.”
Rugby league great Johnathan Thurston – the face of the “Get Ready” campaign – likened planning ahead to playing footy.
“All good sports teams have a game plan, and all good households should have a plan to get ready for floods, cyclones, storms and bushfires,” he said in a statement.
“These are easy actions for every Queenslander to make sure they are best prepared for our state’s unpredictable weather.”
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