On 21 April 2022 Ipswich City Council resolved that council undertake a review of the 2022 flood event, including public participation and submissions, by:

• Publishing a Flood Review 2022, including preparation, planning, the emergency response, and communications effectiveness.
• Conduct public forums and seek residents’ feedback on all aspects of the flood event, including, but not limited to, preparation, emergency response, post-event response, and future flood mitigation measures.
• That submissions and public hearings be made public, except where privacy or operational sensitivity requires confidentiality, in the interests of transparency.
• Develop a final report and plan of action for council's consideration, including suggested actions for all levels of government, before the December 2022 Ordinary Council meeting.

• Provide insight and assurance as to council’s and other entities’ capacity and capability to respond to flood events
• Provide an opportunity for you to provide input and feedback to feel valued and heard
• Provide insight into community resilience, and expectations regarding disaster and flood events.
• Educate and inform the community and stakeholders about disaster management systems and personal preparedness.

• Council’s Disaster Dashboard was helpful and kept up to date, giving the community a reliable source of information
• Council was proactive at sharing information, not only on the Disaster Dashboard but also on social media platforms
• During the event, Council staff and Councillors were perceived to be helpful, provided localised updates and undertook relevant actions if the information could not be issued at that time (e.g. issuing a follow up call or sending information to residents)
• Council assisted the community in their clean-up efforts by immediately allowing the use of the Council Resource Recovery Centres for free and providing waste trucks into the more heavily impacted communities as soon as the water receded to remove waste reducing the emotional impact of seeing flood damaged property on the streets
• Multiple Councillors and Council Officers reached out to the community during and after the flood event and helped them
• Assistance from non-profits, e.g. Lifeline
• The Recovery Hubs were organised quickly and provided a lot of support to community members

• Use clear messaging which can be easily understood for notifications, print material, online and social media
• Participants would rather be overprepared than underprepared – Council could have equipment ready in identified and potential flooding areas to assist residents with preparations
• Access to localised flood mapping data
• Council could provide awareness that blocking the number used for emergency announcements will block future announcements and information and to build awareness that emergency announcement/text and other notifications are used
• Accessible and multilingual messaging is needed to ensure it reaches all members of the community
• Recovery Hubs could be open for a longer timeframe
• A central register to track volunteers in the community
• Greater education for residents on where emergency facilities are located and where supplies can be found i.e. food
• Establish an official emergency/recovery centre which is a safe location for those to stay during future flood events in communities where isolation is known to occur