Redland City Council is next week set to formally endorse its After-Action Review of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, following one of the most significant weather events in recent Australian history.
The review, prepared independently by Yellow Company, examines Council’s disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts during the cyclone and outlines 18 recommendations to improve future operations.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred hit southeast Queensland with destructive winds, heavy rainfall, and flash flooding, leaving residents facing power outages, communication disruptions, and property damage.
Council infrastructure, including public parks and community facilities, also sustained damage.
The review involved extensive stakeholder engagement, with 212 participants contributing 537 observations through debriefs covering leadership, communication, interoperability, and information management.
It highlighted a number of strengths in Council’s response, including proactive preparedness, effective multi-agency collaboration, timely emergency alerts, and the use of real-time data to support decision-making.
“Council’s response to TC Alfred demonstrated operational flexibility and strong coordination across multiple agencies and community groups,” the report notes.
The Community Champion program, sandbagging operations, and inter-council support were singled out as key factors in maintaining effective communication and service delivery.
The 18 recommendations aim to strengthen Council’s disaster management capability, covering areas such as succession planning, procedural updates, communication protocols, recovery operations, and community engagement.
Several actions have already been implemented, including:
- Training additional staff for key disaster coordination roles;
- Upgrading the Local Disaster Coordination Centre at 50 Middle Street to ensure operational readiness;
- Establishing an Emergency Operations Team to support operational crews;
- Recruiting a Community Recovery and Resilience Officer and a Community Recovery Officer to support ongoing recovery efforts;
- Expanding the Community Champions program, particularly on North Stradbroke Island, and supporting island businesses in disaster resilience planning.
Other initiatives are underway, including designing a purpose-built disaster coordination centre and participating in the STAND program to provide satellite connectivity to key evacuation centres during emergencies.
The After-Action Review will be formally considered at the Council General Meeting on December 10, 2025, with Council set to thank all participants who contributed to the development of the report.
