New research into north Queensland's 2025 flood disaster has found that roughly one third of people living in the Townsville and surrounding regions were unprepared for the flood emergency.
Dr Yetta Gurtner from James Cook University's Centre for Disaster Studies surveyed people living in the Townsville and surrounding regions during the extended flood event. She found a concerning proportion of residents were ill-equipped for the disaster.
"30% of survey respondents said they did not have a disaster kit, which is a minimum of three days food, water, and supplies," she said.
Heavy rainfall from a series of tropical lows and the early stages of Cyclone Alfred during January–April 2005 resulted in infrastructure damage estimated at over $1.2B, as well as fatalities from flooding and the consequent melioidosis outbreak. In Townsville, the Ross River Dam reached 164% capacity, necessitating water releases.
Evacuation orders were issued for low-lying areas, including six suburbs in Townsville. However, the survey found there was confusion around household evacuation decisions.
"One of the big findings was the uncertainty over the flood mapping," explains Dr Gurtner.
"For the evacuation zones, people had difficulty interpreting the maps, particularly over pink and black flood zones. So, people didn't know whether they were supposed to evacuate."
Facebook was the most accessed source of information during the flood event. However, social media platforms were found to misinform residents by exaggerating forecasts and posting outdated photos of previous flood events.
"What was actually happening was people were using photos from the 2019 floods during this [2025] event, and people were getting a wrong perception of what was actually happening," said Dr Gurtner.
Dr Gurtner advises that, as flood disasters become more frequent, people need to be prepared for emergency events year-round.
"Disasters can happen any time now", she said.
"We need to be better prepared, not just with disaster kits but for potential evacuation as well."
The survey found that the extended nature of the 2025 flood event challenged households' disaster readiness, with respondents calling for centralised sources of accurate and timely information, better agency coordination, and education around disaster preparedness for new residents.
"Preparedness is 365 days a year now," warns Dr Gurtner.
"So, one, have a disaster kit. Two, pay attention to the information from a credible resource".
For further information about disaster preparedness, see Get Ready Queensland.
