Flood-prone areas across Queensland will receive $7 million for early warning infrastructure.

The federal government has announced 170 projects, including new river height gauges, cameras, signage and sensor technology for areas heavily impacted by flooding in 2022.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said with more frequent and intense flooding in recent years, this infrastructure was crucial.

“While we can’t predict the future, we know complacency is simply not an option when it comes to building disaster resilience,” he said.

“With earlier flood warnings and more comprehensive information captured we’ll significantly improve our defence against disaster events.”

More than 20 Queensland councils will get $235,000 each for new flood warning infrastructure.

These include Balonne, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cherbourg, Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Goondiwindi, Gladstone, Gympie, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Noosa, North Burnett, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset, South Burnett, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Western Downs.

An extra $1 million will be set aside for ‘high-priority’ projects within nine of these local government areas.

Queensland Fire and Disaster Recovery Minister Nikki Boyd said the investment would help keep communities safe in severe weather.

“While we recover we also need to keep preparing for the natural disasters we will inevitably face in the years ahead,” she said.

“Doing this will put us in a stronger position to both weather the storm and recover from its impacts.”

– AAP