Executive summary
The Queensland flooding of early 2011 was Australia’s largest natural disaster in recent memory. With a “ballpark” estimate of US$ 15.9 billion1 in total damages and economic losses (with a public reconstruction cost of approximately US$7.2 billion), this is also one of the major international disasters of the last decade. The combined impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami has been US$ 11.5 billion, and it is similar to major disasters in developed countries, such as the 1994 Los Angeles Earthquake (US$ 24 billion) or the 2002 flooding of the Elbe River in Germany (US$ 14 billion). As of March 2011, the government and private sector have mobilized an estimated US$ 11.8 billion (including insurance payments), representing 75 percent of the estimated damage and losses which is already above the 45 percent average of disaster coverage in developed economies.