Rebuild and recover – February 2022 severe weather event

Total estimated cost: $656 million

• Flood clean up and disaster response operations: $58 million.
• Net cost to Brisbane City Council: $327 million.
• 320 community clubs have been approved to receive a total of $1.6 million in grants, helping with recovery and repair.
• $250 rates rebate made available, with a total value of up to $6 million.
• $6.5 million in reduced parking revenue due to shut down parking metres and changed arrangements during the immediate post-flood recovery phase.
• Council is providing further support to ratepayers impacted by the severe weather and facing financial difficulties by offering a payment extension of up to 60 days or a payment plan.

The total cost is partially offset by insurance and other recovery and reconstruction funding (Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements and State Disaster Relief Arrangements).

• Council cleared 3357 streets and collected 75,535 tonnes of waste.
• More than 800 Council (and external) personnel helped clean up across Brisbane.
• 1000 Council vehicles (including trucks, bobcats and excavators) supported the massive clean up.
• 10 Council street sweepers operated over 2 shifts, 6 days per week for a 2 week period to clean up flood impacted roadways, totalling 2400 hours.
• 7 bikeway reconstruction projects are underway. All bikeways have now reopened, however sections at Kedron Brook, Little Cabbage Tree Creek Bikeway and a link to the Centenary Bikeway are currently inaccessible.
• Approximately 285 km of road was impacted with 78 roads requiring significant resurfacing repairs. The resurfacing works will be completed as soon as possible, and road surveys of underlying pavement damage commenced in May 2022. A rolling program of resurfacing works will continue.
• 17,077 potholes repaired across 176 suburbs by 25 March 2022.
• Council manages 1006 traffic signals in total, of which flooding affected 129 sites to varying degrees. All sites are repaired and operational. 
• 170 km of Council maintained bikeway was safe and clean by 1 April 2022, ahead of school holidays.
• Council removed a significant amount of silt, several tonnes of wood and multiple pontoons from the Bicentennial Bikeway in just over a week.
• More than 300 m³ of mud (equivalent to 3 bus loads of waste) was removed from the Cultural Centre Boardwalk.
• 480 food waste bins were distributed to 113 sites across 3 days during the severe weather event.
• Regular bin collection service resumed the day after the weather event.
• 29,000 flood waste loads and more than 26 t of hazardous waste was dropped off by residents following the floods (more than the entire 2020-21 financial year), and an estimated 75,535 t of flood waste was collected as part of the kerbside collection program, Operation Collect.
• Resource Recovery Centres remained operational and offered extended opening hours to assist residents cleaning up.
• 8078 gullies were impacted, with the total pipe network impact now revised down to 307 km from an expected 670 km.

Quarries

• 2 quarries were damaged, and both are back in restricted operations with full operation expected by September 2022. 

Buildings

Bus depots

• 2 bus depots (Carina and Virginia) were damaged, both are now repaired and operational.

Car parks

• 2 car parks (Wickham Terrace and King George Square) were damaged, both are now repaired and operational.

Environment centres

• 2 environmental centres at Boondall and Karawatha were damaged, both are now repaired and operational.  

State Emergency Services (SES) depots

• 4 SES depots were damaged, however 3 sites are now repaired and operational.
• 1 depot will be repaired in the 2022-23 financial year.
• 182,770 sandbags were distributed in response to the severe weather event, which is the equivalent to 3655 fully loaded one-tonne utes.

Council offices and depots 

• 16 sites were impacted by the event, with 14 repairs completed.

Ward offices

• 6 sites were impacted, all repair works complete and sites operational. 

Moorings

• A structural assessment of Gardens Point Boat Harbour and Breakfast Creek has been completed and a decision regarding works is pending. Breakfast Creek moorings closed on 31 March to accommodate capital works.

Public art

• 6 artworks were damaged, all repairs are now complete.

Structures

Bridges and culverts 

• 3 bridges were damaged: 
  • Kholo Bridge is currently open and operating without issue
  • Kooringal Drive bikeway (link to Centenary Bikeway, Jindalee) was significantly damaged and requires replacement
  • Hawera Circuit Bridge (link to Little Cabbage Tree Creek Bikeway at Aspley) was significantly damaged and requires replacement. 

Boardwalks

• Minor damage to the New Farm Riverwalk handrail has been repaired, and the swing bridge repair will be completed in the next 6 months.
• Cultural Centre Riverwalk is in full operation, with pile-wrapping to repair damage completed. More than 300 m³ of mud (equivalent to 3 bus loads of waste) was removed from the Cultural Centre Boardwalk.
• Damage to the Kangaroo Point Riverwalk handrails is being investigated.
• Damage to sign and barrier panel on the view deck of Indooroopilly Riverwalk is under repair.  
• City Reach Riverwalks are now operational from Howard Smith Wharves to the Botanic Gardens.

Landslips

• Council continues to monitor landslips along river and road corridors.
• 74 sites in total have been inspected since the flood. This includes some river banks and parks.

Wharves, jetties and pontoons

• Council owns 34 pontoons; 7 of these require major work or replacement. 22 are currently open, requiring minor repairs and 3 require repairs and are closed.
• Detailed inspection of 81% of the impacted jetties and boat ramps completed with cleaning and minor repairs to most underway. Damage repair plan is in quotation phase.  

Parks structures

• New staircase design for Shorncliffe Escarpment expected by December 2022, following the complete loss of the structure.

Resources Recovery Centres (RRCs) and Brisbane landfill

• 4 RRCs sustained minor damage, with a schedule for repair works in progress.  
• Repairs to Brisbane landfill to be completed early in the 2022-23 financial year.  

Road network

Parking meters

• 77 parking meters across the city were damaged. 30 were replaced and 20 were repaired and operating by 4 April 2022. 27 zones that had meters are now operational via mobile phone app only.

Road surface

• Approximately 285 km of road was impacted with 78 roads requiring significant resurfacing repairs. The resurfacing works will be completed as soon as possible, and road surveys of underlying pavement damage commenced from May 2022. 
• 17,077 potholes repaired across 176 suburbs by 25 March 2022.

Traffic signals

• Council manages 1006 traffic signals in total, of which flooding affected 129 sites to varying degrees.
• All sites are repaired and operational.

Lighting

• 4282 Council-owned lights in parks, on bikeways and on roads were impacted, all lights inspected and made safe.

Duct and fibre

• 87 fibre splice enclosures were impacted. While there were no service faults, 13 damaged fibre joints require replacement.   

Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS)

• Council manages variable message signs, traffic cameras, flood warning systems and network communication equipment. Flooding caused damage to 6 of these; all which are now repaired and operational.

Public transport

Buses

• All bus stops are operational except for one bus stop at The Gap requiring extensive rebuild to occur in the 2022-23 financial year.
• Toombul bus interchange was significantly damaged and has now reopened. 
• 20% of Council owned bus driver amenity facilities were damaged with all repairs now complete.
• Garage plant and equipment at Virginia Depot damaged with 90% of the repairs now complete.  

Ferries

• 1 CityCat lost; to be replaced.

Ferry terminals and infrastructure

• 21 terminals available to operate, with 13 returned to service.
• Ferry support facilities (Merthyr Road mooring, Hawthorne refuelling) are now operational.

Footpaths

• Approximately 181 km of constructed footpath was impacted. 231 surveys of footpaths have been completed and response plans in preparation.

Bikeways

• More than 55 off-road bikeway and shared pathways in Brisbane were impacted.
• 170 km across the more than 55 bikeways and shared paths were cleared of debris, cleaned and minor works undertaken to reopen on 1 April 2022, ahead of school holidays.
• The damaged restaurant structure on the Bicentennial Bikeway has been removed. Some works to restore structural elements of the sea wall and lighting assets remains ongoing, including renewed lighting between the Riverside Expressway and the rail bridge.
• More than 300 m³ of mud (equivalent to 3 bus loads of waste) was removed from the Cultural Centre Boardwalk.
• 7 bikeways reconstruction projects are underway, with improvement opportunities being considered on a site-by-site basis. All bikeways have now reopened, however sections at Kedron Brook, Little Cabbage Tree Creek Bikeway and a link to the Centenary Bikeway are currently inaccessible. Connectivity was restored at Kedron Brook Bikeway Royal Parade and at the rail underpass east of Diggers Drive at Kalinga Park in June 2022.

• Business Liaison Officers were door knocking affected businesses with representatives from Department of Employment, Small Business and Training.
• 3 types of fact sheets were provided to businesses - support for small business, returning to your business premises and cleaning your food business.
• Opened Business Recovery Hubs in Nundah, Moorooka and the City. Nundah and the City have now returned to business-as-usual operations providing ongoing support.
• Provided pop-up Business Recovery Hubs in Toombul, Jindalee and Sumner, Rocklea, Milton and Albion as part of an initial response.
• Provided temporary workspaces for impacted businesses at the Suburban Business Hub in Nundah and the Brisbane Business Hub in Brisbane City.
• $250 rates rebate for affected property owners.
• Free citywide parking that was instated in response to the COVID-19 outbreak was extended until the end of March 2022.

Parks

• 863 parks were impacted by either creek or river flooding. Parks are being repaired in key packages of work:
  • Easter School Holiday package: 91 of 93 parks now fully complete
  • Anzac Day package: 243 of 251 parks now fully complete - all Anzac memorial sites were accessible for Anzac Day.
• Park assets which were damaged and under repair: 
  • 23 of 25 park toilets are now repaired
  • 32 of more than 40 barbecues remain out of service
  • 297 of 1072 playgrounds impacted, with 15 remaining out of service
  • 40 of 162 dog off-leash areas repaired, with 15 remaining out of service.
• Temporary closure currently in place at Cactoblastis Corner Park, Sherwood.   

Natural areas

• 1002 surveys were completed with most tracks and trails significantly affected with temporary closures still in place for 4 locations. 
• Council crews sprayed 1400 mosquito breeding sites following the severe weather event.
• The following mountain bike trails have been reopened in Mt Coot-tha Forest:
  • Glider Trail
  • Gap Creek Circuit
  • Pipeline Trail
  • Death Adder Trail
  • Rocket Frog
  • Skink Link.

Stormwater

Waterways

• 2557 surveys of waterways completed with significant erosion in some areas. Cleaning and inspection ongoing.  

Enclosed drains

• 8070 gullies were impacted, with the total pipe network impact now revised down to 307 km from an expected 670 km.

Flood gauges

• 26 Maximum Height gauges and 3 Electronic Height gauges were lost along with other gauge boards. Repair and replacement was scoped for 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years.

Community halls 

• Toowong Perrin Park Community Hall impacted, repair works are underway and are due for completion in July 2022.

Community leased facilities 

• Of 640 facilities, 331 were impacted (51%).
  • 198 buildings impacted.
  • 106 sports fields impacted.
  • 74 car parks impacted.
  • 61 irrigation systems impacted.
  • 40 sports field lighting installations impacted.
  • 21 retaining walls impacted.
  • 16 pontoons impacted.
• $5000 relief payments approved for 320 community organisations.
• Resilience inspections have been completed at 100 facilities with recommendation reports due in July 2022.

Golf course

St Lucia Golf Links was impacted, with repairs now complete.

Pools

• 4 of 22 pools were impacted, however all have been cleaned and resumed operations while repairs are arranged.
• Jindalee Pool – indoor pool now reopened, 50 m outdoor pool needs repair and is still undergoing investigation.
• Bellbowrie Pool – 25 m pool, gym, kiosk and café open, 50 m pool has been repaired and is closed for winter along with other pool areas undergoing minor repairs.
• Newmarket Olympic Swimming Pool – indoor pool open, upgrade works on 50 m pool are underway.  

Cemeteries

• 2 cemeteries were impacted by the event, and repairs complete.

Riverstage

• Lift impacted causing electrical damage. Now operational, with resilience opportunities under consideration. 

Waste and resource recovery

Bins

• 480 food waste bins were distributed to 113 sites across 3 days during severe weather event.
• Regular bin collection service resumed the day after the weather event.

Resource Recovery Centres

• 29,000 flood waste loads and more than 26 t of hazardous waste was dropped off by residents following the floods (more than the entire 2020-21 financial year), and an estimated 75,535 t of flood waste was collected as part of the kerbside collection program, Operation Collect.
• Resource Recovery Centres remained operational and offered extended opening hours to assist residents cleaning up.