New Dam Proposals Shelved for Years Despite Major Flood Risks in Australian State: Report

Australian Army aircrewman prepares to conduct a rescue by winch of a community member from an MRH-90 Taipan, over Lismore, Australia, on Feb. 28, 2022. Australian Defence Force

Thousands of homes could have been saved from major floods that swept through Queensland, Australia, in early March had the government acted on a 2014 report to build additional defences against flooding.

The study was put together by Queensland’s then-Department of Energy and Water Supplies, following the devastating 2011 floods that inundated Toowoomba, Ipswich, and large swathes of Queensland’s capital city of Brisbane. The disaster claimed 33 lives, affected 200,000 people, and caused about AU$2 billion of damage.