The key to effective flood recovery: Connection and community
3 December 2024
Successful flood recovery depends on connection—both with organisations providing essentials like food, clothing, and shelter, and, most importantly, with people. Building trust is at the heart of recovery efforts.
Image: Yeronga Community Centre, March 2022. “Volunteers have been integral to our Yeronga Community Kitchen activity over the past few weeks, cooking up delicious meals for flood-affected locals".
After the Lismore floods, it became clear that engaging locals in recovery efforts was more effective than bringing in external professionals. Melinda McInturff, Community Resilience Coordinator for Community Plus Queensland, explains that locals can connect better because they already understand the community’s backstory.
“It’s not just the flood affecting them,” she notes. “They may have other struggles, like dealing with illness, bereavement, or major life changes.”
Long-term community connections enable recovery hubs to provide tailored support and connect individuals to the right services. Local knowledge also helps ensure safety, particularly for vulnerable groups. In Lismore, a lack of planning led to women and children fleeing domestic violence being forced to shelter alongside their abusers, individuals with addictions, and known offenders. According to research cited by The Guardian, this failure resulted in additional trauma, including sexual assaults, during the immediate aftermath of the floods.
Matt Chesnais of Resilient Horizons attributes such failures to inadequate planning and funding. He criticises the reactive nature of disaster recovery in Australia, where temporary centres are hastily set up without robust frameworks for safety. Recovery services often end prematurely, leaving gaps that local communities must fill.
The role of local recovery hubs
After the 2022 floods the Yeronga Community Centre stepped up to address these gaps. During the Senate hearing of Australia’s Disaster Resilience Select Committee, Melinda McInturff described the Centre’s ongoing role post-disaster: providing material aid, well-being checks, psychosocial support, and long-term recovery assistance.
Local knowledge and connections have even saved lives. For instance, during the 2022 floods, a lawn maintenance worker’s familiarity with a residential care facility prevented a potential tragedy when residents, unaware of the rising floodwaters, were safely evacuated.
Such hubs serve as wrap-around services, offering not only emergency relief but also long-term support. Building trust within the community and with external organisations is critical. “You can’t do it alone,” Melinda emphasises.
Recovery hubs can also educate those new to the area about disaster preparedness, offering advice on when to evacuate and what to expect, such as accessibility challenges when roads are cut off.
Images: Services providers at the Yeronga and West End Community Centre Flood Recovery Hub in March 2022.
Strengthening community resilience
Community facilities like Yeronga Community Centre also focus on disaster preparedness, ensuring local knowledge is preserved and shared. This involves conducting training sessions, maintaining registers of vulnerable residents, and collaborating with other centres to avoid duplication of services. Sharing responsibilities allows staff, many of whom are part-time, to manage the workload effectively.
Temporary disaster centres often fail to account for broader community needs, prioritising only those whose homes were flooded. Yet many others, such as individuals reliant on electricity for medical equipment, also require urgent support. Recovery hubs can address these gaps, providing a safe, welcoming space where people feel seen and heard.
The importance of volunteer empowerment
Volunteers are the backbone of recovery hubs. Empowering them to use their skills without micromanagement fosters a sense of ownership and trust. Recognising and supporting their contributions is vital to sustaining long-term efforts.
A broader approach to disaster management
Disaster recovery requires a shift from reactive to proactive strategies. Matt Chesnais advocates for a return to the civil defence mindset of the mid-20th century, where communities maintained dedicated groups ready to respond to emergencies. New Zealand has implemented this through local Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) groups and a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), which provides strategic leadership, operational support, and assurance.
Gender-sensitive approaches are also critical. Gender and Disaster Australia (GADAUS) offers guidelines to ensure safety and equity in relief and recovery efforts, addressing the unique vulnerabilities of women and children during emergencies.
Recovery hubs as long-term solutions
Effective recovery hubs act as one-stop shops, helping people navigate grants, insurance, and rebuilding processes. They provide continuity after other services, like Lifeline and Red Cross, have withdrawn. Offering a safe, trusted space helps reduce trauma and rebuilds community resilience.
By fostering trust, leveraging local knowledge, and providing holistic support, recovery hubs not only address immediate needs but also lay the groundwork for stronger, more connected communities prepared for future challenges.
Image: Triple floodies Lorraine, Daphne, Shirley and Ron reconnecting at Yeronga Community Centre with cuppa and cake in March 2022.
Rose Lane is a freelance writer who has lived in Brisbane since 1985 and in 4101 since 2019. She has been a regular contributor to The Westender and was a Community Correspondent with ABC Radio Brisbane from 2014-2016. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Big Issue, New Matilda and other publications.