Community-led innovation strengthens flood resilience in Brisbane’s West End

The Kurilpa Peninsula in Brisbane’s West End is more than a collection of apartment buildings and local businesses, it’s a vibrant community with a richly diverse population. 

However, its proximity to the Brisbane River leaves it susceptible to flooding which poses significant risks to residents and infrastructure.

The catastrophic flooding of February 2022 devastated the peninsula, impacting 19 of its 57 apartment buildings. 

Approximately 24 per cent of residents had little to no awareness of their flood risk before the disaster, underscoring a critical need for a targeted intervention to protect this high-density urban community.

Enter Resilient Kurilpa, a groundbreaking, community-led initiative developed in response to the floods.

Resilient Kurilpa is centred around three core objectives:

• Reducing Future Risk: Practical measures such as flood education programs and sharing planning and preparedness tools.
• Empowering Community: Residents supported to lead their own preparedness with online and in-person workshops.
• Fostering Connectedness: Community-building activities strengthen relationships and create networks to support recovery efforts.

Inclusivity was one of the program’s defining features.

Content was designed to be accessible to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, people with disability, apartment residents, and families – demographics who often face additional challenges in post-disaster scenarios.

A series of tailored workshops where participants gained critical skills, across topics such as flood planning for apartment residents and buildings, renters rights, and flood insurance, formed the heart of Resilient Kurilpa. 

The program targeted physical recovery as well as building the mental resilience needed for a robust community response in future flood events.

As part of the program, Queensland Health’s Post-Disaster Recovery Team provided psychological first aid training to prepare residents for supportive conversations during distressing events.

One of the program’s most forward-thinking aspects was its focus on high-density living, a challenge that will become increasingly common as urban environments grow. 

Recognising the unique logistical and structural vulnerabilities of apartment buildings, Resilient Kurilpa developed tools such as their Flood Mitigation Plan template specific to apartments and vertically dense infrastructure. 

These measures hold immense value not only for Kurilpa but for other urban communities vulnerable to natural disasters.

The improvements made by this initiative serve as a living case study for disaster management agencies, urban planners, and other flood-vulnerable communities.

Winning the Community category at the 2025 Queensland Resilient Australia Awards, the Resilient Kurilpa project has set a new benchmark for neighbourhood-based flood resilience.

Resilient Kurilpa will now go on to compete as a finalist for the National Resilient Australia Awards, which will be announced in late 2025.

The full list of Queensland winners and highly commended entrants is available at www.getready.qld.gov.au/RAA25-QldAwards.