Contrasting community experiences and recovery challenges in slow- and rapid-onset flooding: Insights from the 2022–2023 Australian floods

Le résumé fourni par la source

: Flooding is among the most widespread and costly natural hazards worldwide, with impacts that vary substantially depending on how quickly it develops. This onset speed is recognised as a critical factor shaping the impacts of natural hazards and the challenges faced by affected communities, yet how these differences play out within a single flood event remains underexplored. To address this gap, we examine the 2022–2023 floods across Eastern and Southern Australia, among the most severe recent natural hazards, causing extensive damage and disruption to affected communities. We conducted 52 semi-structured interviews with residents from four flood-affected communities in Victoria and South Australia (May–June 2024); the Victorian communities experienced rapid-onset flooding, while the South Australian communities experienced slow-onset flooding. Findings reveal that while some experiences were similar across conditions, differences in onset speed were associated with variation in communication channel usage, risk perceptions, protective action behaviours, flood impacts, and recovery challenges, though these patterns should be interpreted alongside demographic and contextual differences between the two samples that may also have contributed to the variation observed. Slow-onset flooding, in particular, introduced unique complexities across the emergency response and recovery phase. These insights highlight the need for policy adjustments, in Australia and internationally, that better accommodate the prolonged nature and associated challenges of slow-onset events.

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