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FLOOD IMPACT QUESTIONNAIRE

For Communities affected by the Queensland's Central and Western inland floods during January and February 2004

We are conducting this survey so that we can better understand how you, your household and your community were affected during Queensland's central and Western inland floods during January and February 2004.

We realise that this is quite a long survey questionnaire and we hope that you will respond to all of the questions. However, you do not have to complete every question to send it. We appreciate the time that you are taking to provide us with this valuable feedback but please feel free to skip over any questions that you are unable to,or do not wish to, answer.

A PDF version of this questionnaire is also available. Please print the questionnaire, answer the questions and post it to the address specified at end.

The information you provide will help us to improve our warning services in your region. It will also assist us in our work with our partners in emergency services to provide more efficient flood mitigation, particularly in terms of community preparation and response.

The information you provided will only be used by the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology. Please refer to Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology Privacy and Disclaimer statements.

Please follow the instructions when answering each question. It is preferred that the survey is to be completed on-line. However if you wish, you could print out the survey provided at the end of this document, complete that and post it to the contact address provided at the end. When you are satisfied that you have completed all the questions you wish to answer simply press the "send" button at the end. Only your responses are recorded. We do not know your identity or where you are sending this from. You are welcome to choose to provide your details and any additional feedback through a link provided below.

If you would like us to send you some further information on flood warnings and preparing for and responding to floods, please provide your contact details through this link, Flood Warning Service - Client Survey.

As this survey is about the recent Central and Western Queensland floods we need to know the area or region in which you live

Can you please provide us with

The town (or nearest town) in which you are currently living − that is the place you were living when you were affected by these floods .

Your current postcode

Thank you once again for you contribution
Linda Anderson−Berry − Disaster Mitigation and Planning Services, Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology.

Section 1
In this section we will focus on the how the floods directly affected you, your household and your community.

1. Did your home, contents or any of your household's other possessions suffer from flood damage?

Yes
No

2. If yes, What parts of your property were flooded? (Please tick relevant options available)

Block of land
Out-buildings
Garage
Car, Caravan, Boat
Grazing / Agricultural land
Other (Please specify)

3. Was your home isolated by the flood waters?

Yes
No
If yes − for how long

Can you briefly describe what happened.

4. Was your community isolated by flood waters?

Yes
No
If yes − for how long

Can you briefly describe the situation

5. Did you or your business bear any financial costs as a direct result of these floods, that were not covered by insurance (excluding loss of earnings, if any)?

Yes
No

6. Did you or your business experience any financial gain as a direct result of these floods

Yes
No

7. How long did it take for you and/or your business to get back to your normal daily routines.

Yes our daily routines were interrupted
If yes please specify
days or months or Years
No our daily routines were not interrupted

8. Did you or anyone in your household forced to leave your home during or after the flood?

Yes
No

9. Which of the following institutions and people helped or supported your household during these floods, and to what level was help given?

	We received no help	Volunteer help (number of hours)
Friends of family (not living with you), Neighbours
Community groups
District council
Charities
Church
Local businesses, shops
Police
Fire brigade
Government relief funds

10. How much time in total did members of your household and/or business spend on responding to the flood and/or helping with the cleanup? (e.g. 3 people helping for 1 day each equals 3 days)

Cleaning up your property:	hours or days
As an unpaid volunteer:	hours or days
As part of paid work:	hours or days

Number of people capable of helping in your household

11. Had you undertaken any of these flood mitigation measures before these floods?

Taken out household insurance against flooding	Yes	No
Raised the floor level of your house	Yes	No
Kept ditches and drains around the property clean	Yes	No
Moved property or stock	Yes	No
Avoided keeping irreplaceable items or goods of sentimental value on ground floor of your home	Yes	No

12. Has your household undertaken (or do you intend to undertake) any of these flood prevention measures after these floods?

Taken out household insurance against flooding	Yes	No
Raised the floor level of your house	Yes	No
Kept ditches and drains around the property clean	Yes	No
Relocated property or stock	Yes	No
Avoided keeping irreplaceable items or goods of sentimental value on ground floor of your home	Yes	No

13. Have members of your household ever done any of these things?

Been a member of a local community group related to flooding
Written letters to relevant authorities about flooding
Attended meetings related to flooding
None of these

Section 2
This section focuses on your previous experience of flooding

14. How many times have you experienced flooding that has caused some disruption to your usual routines while living at this address?

Never been flooded
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
More than five times

15. Were these floods the worst (i.e. biggest impact) that you have experienced at this property?

Yes
No
If not, when was the worst flooding experienced?

Section 3
This section focuses on the flood warnings

16. Were you aware of the flood warnings and/or river height bulletins issued by the Australia Government Bureau of Meteorology before the flood?

Yes
No (Go to Question 22)
If yes, did you take any special actions in response to the warning?

17. Approximately how long before you were actually affected by the flood waters did you receive the first warning?

I did not receive any warning
Less than 1 hour
1-6 hours
7-12 hours
13-24 hours
More than 24 hours

18. From which authority did you receive warning(s)?

I did not receive any warning
Local Council
Emergency Services
Bureau of Meteorology
Police
Fire Service
I can't remember
Another weather service − please specify
Other − please specify

19. How accurate do you think that the warnings and flood information for these floods has been?

Accurate all of the time
Accurate most of the time
Accurate some of the time
Not accurate very often
Never accurate

20. Approximately how often did you access the flood warnings on this (Bureau of Meteorology Queensland) website during these floods?

Never
More than once an hour
Hourly
2-3 times a day
Daily
Other - please specify

21. Did you get additional information about these floods from other web sites?

Yes
No
If yes - Please specify

Please note − many websites provide information about floods and flood warnings, some of this comes from the Bureau some come from other sources we are interested to find out where people are looking for information and how many different sources they are going to .

22. How often would you usually visit this (the Queensland Flood Warning Centre) website?

Do you find the information on this website "user−friendly" and easy to understand?
Yes
No

If yes please comment

23. Using this scale please indicate how satisfied you were with the Bureau's Flood Warning Service for these floods.

Not at all		(scale)	Very satisfied
1	2	3	4	5

Do you think that there is any other flood warning information that we could have provided you with that would help you to avoid any damage or loss during these floods
Yes
No
If yes please explain

Section 4
This section focuses on what you think about floods and the flood risk. This helps us with our planning for public education campaigns.

24. How concerned are you about the risk of floods?

	Not at all		(scale)	A great deal
I think about floods	1	2	3	4	5
I talk about floods	1	2	3	4	5
I get information on floods	1	2	3	4	5
I think a flood could pose a threat to my personal safety	1	2	3	4	5
I think a flood could pose a threat to my daily activities (work, leisure etc)	1	2	3	4	5

25. Have you seen any flood hazard maps for your community?

Yes
Not sure
No

26. How prepared do you believe the following groups are for future floods affecting your community?

	Very prepared	Some what prepared	Not very prepared	Not prepared at all	Don't know
Your household
Your community
Local Government
State Government − Emergency Services etc
Commonwealth government − Emergency Management, Health, Social Security etc)
Bureau of Meteorology
Utilities service providers − including roads, electricity, telecommunications etc
Social welfare organizations − Red Cross, Salvation Army, Lifeline etc

27. As a result of these floods do you intend to

	No	Possibly	Definitely
Seek information on flood risk in your community
Seek information on things to do to prepare for a possible flood
Become involved with a local group to discuss how to reduce fold risk in your community
Increase level of insurance
Raise the floor level of our house

Please list any other actions you have undertaken as a result of these floods:

Section 5
In this section we move away from flood warnings specifically and focus on the Bureau's public weather forecasts more generally. The following questions ask about your views on their usefulness and accuracy .

28. How often do you usually listen to or read a weather forecast?

Hourly, or several times throughout the day
Daily
Weekly
Rarely
Never (Go to question 33)

29. What Is the main reason you would listen to or read a weather forecast?

To choose clothes for the day
To decide whether to take rain gear with you or not
To plan activities (sports, boating, tramping, gardening, shopping, etc.)
Because it interests me
For work purposes (e.g. to plan farm activities)
Other (Please specify)

30. Would you change plans for a weather-dependant activity (hiking, sport, gardening, etc.) two days ahead because the forecast is for bad weather?

Yes, most often
Yes, but only sometimes
No, never

31. Where do you normally get your weather forecasts from?

	1st perference	2nd perference	3rd perferene
Radio
TV
Newspaper
Recorded phone message
Website Bureau of Meteorology
Website - other
Neighbour, friend, relative or family member

32. How often do you think the Bureau's weather forecasts are right ?

All of the time
Most of the time
Some of the time
Not even often
Never

Section 6
This section focuses on the community response to flooding we are hoping to discover where people expect any assistance to come from as well as their own community's capacity to respond and avoid loss .

REMEMBER ALL INFORMATION GIVEN WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL.

33. Please indicate on the scale whose responsibility you believe it is to protect us from floods

	Not at all		(scale)	A great deal
Commonwealth government	1	2	3	4	5
State government	1	2	3	4	5
Local council	1	2	3	4	5
Individual households	1	2	3	4	5
There is no use preparing as we can't do much anyway	1	2	3	4	5

34. Which, if any, volunteer organisations are you or anyone in your household involved in?

State Emergency Service (SES)
Neighborhood watch
Volunteer fire brigade
Country Women's Association (CWA)
Lions
Rotary
None
Other(s) (Please specify)

35. Below is a list of statements on how you feel about living in your community.
Please use the scale to the right to show how much each statement applies to you, or doesn't apply to you .

	Doesn't apply		(scale)	Applies strongly
I feel "at home" in this community	1	2	3		5
I am satisfied living in this community	1	2	3	4	5
I am a useful member of this community	1	2	3	4	5
I have the same values and beliefs as my neighbours	1	2	3	4	5
I feel I don't "belong" in this community	1	2	3	4	5
I am interested in knowing what goes on in this community	1	2	3	4	5
I would be happy to leave this community	1	2	3	4	5
I know my neighbours and/or other community members	1	2	3	4	5
I have no active involvement in this community	1	2	3	4	5

36. To what extent might each of the following prevent you from preparing for floods?

	Not at all		(scale)	A great deal
Cost	1	2	3	4	5
Skills required to prepare	1	2	3	4	5
Other things to think about instead	1	2	3	4	5
Need for cooperation with others	1	2	3	4	5

37. To what extent do you think that

	Not at all		(scale)	A great deal
Floods are too destructive to bother preparing for	1	2	3	4	5
A flood is unlikely to occur during our lifetime	1	2	3	4	5
It is unnecessary to prepare for floods as assistance will be provided by the Council and/or emergency services	1	2	3	4	5
A damaging flood is something that could occur in the future	1	2	3	4	5

Section 7
This final sections focuses on some basic demographic information about you and your household. It allows us to test that our survey sample is representative and to some extent lets us know a bit about how various groups of people use our web based services .

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE INFORMATION WILL BE KEPT ANONYMOUS .

38. How long have you lived in this community?

39. How long have you lived in this current home?

40. Are you?

Male
Female

41. Which best describes the situation you are living in now ?

Family with children
Family without children
Alone
With other people, not family
Other (Please specify)

42. Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent?

Yes
No

43. How old are you?

Under 20
20-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
Over 80

44. Are you?

Employed full-time
Employed part-time
Self-employed full-time
Self-employed part-time
Not in paid employment

45. What is your highest educational qualification?

No school qualifications
School qualifications
Trade certificate, professional certificate or diploma
University undergraduate degree (e.g. university diploma or bachelor's degree) or university postgraduate degree (e.g. Master's, Ph.D.)

46. On average approximately how many hours per week would you usually spend using the internet

Less than 2 hours a week
About 1 hour a day (most days)
Between 2 and 3 hours a day (most days)
More than 20 hours a week

47. What are the main reasons you use the internet?

Work
To search for specific information
Transactions (eg BillPay and banking)
As a recreational activity - surfing the web
Games
Information about the weather (particularly forecasts and warnings)
Other - please specify



If you wish to provide any other feedback or your contact details please click here, Additional feedback	Bureau of Meteorology addresses and other contact details


PDF version of the questionnaire. Address if posting the survey: Attention: Peter Baddiley Regional Hydrology Manager Bureau of Meteorology GPO Box 413 Brisbane QLD 4001 Tel: (07) 3239 8768

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