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An independent report has revealed the full magnitude of the financial damage wrought by South-East Queensland’s recent floods.
Research from Deloitte that was commissioned by the Queensland government has put the estimated total financial impact of 2022’s devastating storms at $7.7 billion.
That includes an estimated $2 billion in real estate losses to homes and businesses and $4.5 billion in human and social costs to over half a million impacted residents.
Steven Miles, Queensland’s Deputy Premier and minister responsible for the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, said the report was significant in its revelation of the “sheer extent of the damage caused by these floods”.
“Deloitte has taken a broad range of factors into consideration including human and social impacts; damage to residential, commercial and public infrastructure as well as industry disruption; emergency response and clean-up and environmental factors,” he noted.
It revealed that the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) had tracked more than 97,000 residential and commercial claims, accounting for a total value of $1.36 billion and leaving approximately $646 million in uninsured residential and commercial losses.
The report also estimates that more than 4,500 small businesses had been affected, with total damage clocking in at approximately $324 million.
And Mr Miles noted that Australians could plainly see the effect of the floods on the agricultural industry as it was trickling down into their grocery bills.
“You only need to look at the price of lettuce to understand the impact this far-reaching, long-lasting event had on our farmers with many of them either losing their crops or losing the capacity to manage their crops,” he said.
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) also recently made note of the floods’ ongoing impact and the need for assistance, noting that the state body had delivered more than $70,000 of support through various fundraising and volunteer efforts.
This has taken the form of food and drink delivery to affected Queenslanders, boots-on-the-ground clean-up support, and various charitable drives to funnel money into hard-hit communities.
REIQ spearheaded a flood support auction on behalf of inCommunity and Beddown that ultimately brought in $30,000 for the housing and homelessness support organisations.
An additional $28,000 was raised by REIQ staff, member agents, sponsors and friends of the Queensland real estate community through REIQ’s fundraising page, which was split between QShelter and a grant program to get agencies back on their feet.
Reflecting on the efforts, REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said it was “truly heart-warming to see the way everyone in the wider Queensland real estate community came together to contribute their resources, time and money towards this industry effort for natural disaster recovery”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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