We experienced the 1974 flood in Brisbane, at New Farm.
Our house was on stilts,fortunately, which meant that the water stopped 18 inches short of the floor boards. Other families weren't so lucky.
As a result of that, we decided to that our next house would be high enough , so that we would never have to worry about flooding again.
Some of our friends were affected and sold up immediately; others snapped up a bargain, believing that we would never see another flood like that in our lifetime.
As time passed, people became quite confident that another flood like that was highly unlikely; besides, the Wivenhoe Dam was going to save us!
The 2011 flood caused far more damage than the 1974 one and it seems that this could happen maybe every 30 to 40 years. I think it'll take Brisbanites longer to forget and they may be a little more cautious than my generation was after 1974.
Eventually, there'll be promises of better flood mitigation programmes, more dams etc and people will simply forget, as they get on with theit lives.
As for me and my children, if we're looking at a potential purchase, one of the first questions we ask is: "Has it ever been flooded?"
Watching the news , it was like a horror film unfolding, day by day. For people like me, there is no room for smugness! A disaster can happen to anybody, and we can only count our blessings if we've been spared and lend a hand to others.
RK