The recent floods in south-east Queensland, cyclones in North Queensland and severe heat and bushfire events in Victoria and South Australia has focused Australian policy, academic and community attention on the challenges associated with significant weather events (SWE), specifically pre-disaster preparation, disaster-response and post-disaster community resilience. Yet, to date, very little is known about how older people (among the most frail and vulnerable community members) manage during and after such disasters.

This qualitative research addresses this knowledge gap, exploring older residents’ experiences of the 2011 and 2013 Queensland floods. This paper focuses on one element of the disaster cycle, specifically their post-flood experiences. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 older residents who were evacuated from their homes during both floods. These older residents, many of whom had lived through floods in 1955, 1977, 2011 and then 2013, described a very high level of personal responsibility in terms of flood preparedness and a matter of fact approach to the recovery and re-build process. A thematic analysis revealed three key themes that intertwined to promote post-flood resilience: individual capacity (self-belief and proactive flood-proofing behaviours), community spirit (family and community support) and accessing assistance (practical and emotional).These older adults (with an average age of 70 years) did not see themselves as vulnerable, although admitted that they relied heavily on family, friends and neighbours for practical assistance throughout the disaster cycle.

By focussing on how older adults experienced and interpreted the post-flood recovery and re-build process, this research has highlighted the unique age-specific needs and vulnerabilities of older adults during SWE. Given predictions that one in four Australians will be older than 65 years by 2050 (increasing from 13% to 22% of the population; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005), our hope is these findings will help ensure the unique needs of this critical and growing proportion of the population are addressed within disaster policy planning and development.