Over the past few days and last 24 hours in particular, many communities and businesses have been impacted by the unprecedented levels of rainfall and flash flooding here on the Gold Coast and throughout South East Queensland.

While the situation continues to unfold, the team and I at Destination Gold Coast extend our heartfelt thoughts to those impacted during this difficult time. We are here for you and though our industry has encountered yet another detour on our road to recovery – the resilience of Queenslanders continues to shine through. There have been many heartwarming stories of people coming together to help their communities, and no doubt there will be many more in coming days.

Please continue to stay informed and heed the alerts of City of Gold Coast and refer to the Bureau of Meteorology for weather updates.

Key links:

• Do not enter flood waters. Continue to monitor conditions on the Disaster and Emergency Dashboard for up-to-date information on road conditions, weather warnings and power outages.

• Sandbag stations are open until 6pm today. View locations here.

• Follow the City of Gold Coast Facebook page for updates and listen to local media.

• For flood assistance contact SES on 132 500 and in a life-threatening emergency dial 000.

• Report potholes or damage to parks/facilities on the City of Gold Coast App (use the Report a Problem) function or here.

Disaster support:

• Our membership team is here to lend an ear should you need to speak to someone about how the situation is affecting you and your business.

• The Department of Employment, Small Business and Training is collecting data about businesses following the recent flooding event to understand the impact and what assistance is required. Businesses are invited to take this short survey. Further information will be provided as it becomes available here.

• Disaster assistance has been activated for 17 local government areas: Brisbane, Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Noosa, North Burnett, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset, South Burnett, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba. This support will help with the response, clean-up and then reconstruction efforts once flood waters recede and impact assessments can be undertaken. More information on disaster assistance can be found here.   

• Disaster Relief & Recovery Payments (currently applies for Gympie & North Burnett)

  • More information is available on the Services Australia website.  

  • For information and updates on eligibility, visit South East Queensland rainfall and flooding February 2022

Once again, our team are available for support so please reach out if you want to provide feedback or have any questions. We look forward to scheduling an industry update shortly once more information is available.

- Destination Gold Coast CEO, Patricia O'Callaghan