“It was the largest event I’ve ever seen; the destruction was so severe and so widespread, from Gympie to northern NSW,” Mr Brock said.

“I was working as a tradesman during the 2011 floods helping with the repairs, but this event felt almost four times the size, it was very confronting to see the entire contents of peoples’ homes destroyed and piled up the footpaths.

“I remember myself and other RACQ assessors arriving at one street in north Brisbane, out of the 20 homes in the street, about 18 were RACQ members. We were among the first on the ground and you could see the members’ relief that we were there to help them in their darkest time. 

“RACQ staff who couldn’t help on the ground were pitching in on the phones lodging claims. We even had our CEO David Carter taking calls as part of our Lodge on Behalf of initiative to ensure we could get help to our members as soon as possible.”

RACQ Chief Executive Insurance Trent Sayers said the Club has finalised more than 83% of the home claims and materially finalised all motor claims received from the February flooding disaster.

“We received almost 16,000 claims for damage to homes and vehicles from the event and have so far paid out almost $240 million in claims,” Mr Sayers said.

“While our claims progress is tracking ahead of industry, it often takes up to 18 months to recover from events of this scale and magnitude.

“There have also been ongoing challenges, which cause stress and inconvenience for our members.

“Insurers have faced delays in the repair and rebuilding process due to a shortage of qualified tradespeople and the increasing costs and availability of materials. Large, complicated repairs, rectification works, maintenance issues and late claim lodgements have also impacted our recovery speed. 

“We’re in regular contact with our members who have outstanding claims, and our managers, assessors, contractors, and builders continue to work tirelessly to complete the remaining repairs as soon as safely possible, with priority given to complex cases and vulnerable members. 

“We will be there for our members until every claim is finalised, every repair job is finished, and everyone is safely back in their homes.” 

In the wake of the floods, the Queensland Government launched the first household resilience program of its kind in Australia, called the Resilient Homes Fund (RHF). 

The joint program between the State and Federal Government offers funding to assist eligible flood-impacted homeowners to repair or retrofit their homes to a more resilient standard, raise their homes, or voluntarily sell their home to the government.  

Mr Sayers said RACQ is delivering the government’s RHF repair work to eligible insurance members to help minimise the physical, financial and emotional impacts of weather events.

“With every flood or storm, we’re reminded how vulnerable we are, particularly in Queensland, and it’s vital we learn and adapt, so we recover efficiently and effectively,” he said.

“The upgrades to members’ homes include raising electrical circuits and appliances, opting for floating cabinetry or storage space, and using waterproof walling, cabinetry, doors and flooring”.

“Unfortunately, living in the most disaster-prone state in the country, we know more severe weather events are unavoidable, and that’s why it’s so important we build resilient homes and communities.”

Read more about flood-resilient home upgrades here.