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Shared responsibility and social vulnerability in the 2011 Brisbane flood

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Abstract

In January 2011, Brisbane, Australia, experienced its first significant flooding in almost four decades. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire conducted in four affected inner western suburbs 7 months after the flood. These locations were specifically chosen as the residents within these communities come from a range of demographic, social, and economic backgrounds. The research utilised a mixed methods approach involving a quantitative questionnaire and qualitative interviews. This paper examines residents’ experience of the flood, their thoughts on risk reduction and insurance, what factors helped or hindered response and adaptation to flood risk, and how to articulate shared responsibility for reducing flood risk. Assessing gender, age, income, and previous flood experience, it finds that those with previous flood experience were more likely to have flood insurance but less likely to have taken precautions to prepare for the flood. While almost three-quarters of respondents said they were aware of the flood risk when they moved to the area, they were nonetheless surprised by and largely unprepared for the 2011 flood. The implications of these findings for future flood risk reduction are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was part of a larger NCCARF-funded study on the 2010–2011 floods in three locations. The Brisbane fieldwork was completed by Pamela Box and Kate Nairn. Assistance in statistical analysis was provided by Robin van den Honert. Figure 1 was created by Keping Chen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environment and Geography, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Pamela Box

  2. Risk Frontiers, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Deanne Bird & Katharine Haynes

  3. Centre for Disaster Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    David King

Authors
  1. Pamela Box
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  2. Deanne Bird
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  3. Katharine Haynes
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  4. David King
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Correspondence to Pamela Box.

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Box, P., Bird, D., Haynes, K. et al. Shared responsibility and social vulnerability in the 2011 Brisbane flood. Nat Hazards 81, 1549–1568 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2145-z

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