IRRO Program’s proactive approach builds resilience to future natural disasters

On 7 January 2022, the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth crossed the south-east Queensland coast near Hervey Bay producing extreme rainfall in the area.

Daily falls exceeding 400 mm caused flooding across the region as the low moved over land.

At Booubyjan on the western fringes of Gympie, primary producers Dan and Gemma Van Itallie felt the full force of catastrophic flooding. 

The Booubyjan region was one of the worst hit areas and the Van Itallie’s 1200 acre cropping and cattle property was heavily impacted after a deluge dumped almost half a metre of rain fell in one night.

Their cattle yards, hay sheds and machinery were inundated, cows and calves were taken in the flood water, and more than 800 hay bales were lost when the shed they were stored in was destroyed by the raging torrent.

Ironically, given the inundation, the Van Itallie’s beef herd was left without water as the bore that supplied the watering system for the animals was lost and it was too dangerous to leave cattle on the flats by the creek.

Dan and Gemma were left with a devastatingly costly damages bill, a situation repeated for many producers across southeast Queensland as the region suffered multiple flooding events in early-2022.

But help was at hand from a $2.5 million initiative developed by the Queensland Government to assist primary producers impacted by the floods.

Jointly funded by Australian and Queensland governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), the Industry Recovery and Resilience Officer (IRRO) Program was established in response to the devastation of the 2021-2022 disaster season.

The program was overseen by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) and rolled out via the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) to primary producers in 23 local government areas affected by the floods.

IRROs were employed to help producers not just recover from the initial impacts of the events, but also to build resilience to the impact of cumulative flood events and better understand the risk and impact of flood to their farm businesses. 

With the assistance of IRROs, the Van Itallies developed a flood management plan to implement effective strategies, preventative measures and action plans for future flood events.

Following a farm visit by an IRRO to gain an understanding of the flood’s impacts, a flood management plan was developed, based on the disaster management planning principles of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, was developed at the kitchen table.

A disaster assistance grant allowed Dan and Gemma to seek fit-for-purpose on-farm technical advice to assist the rebuild they faced in the aftermath of the catastrophic flood.

Through the IRRO program, the Van Itallies have formed a robust holistic farm management plan, complete with goals, business plans and action plans covering all areas of farm management.

This proactive approach towards building landscape resilience and putting robust business planning in place is key to avoid being reactive to future natural disasters.

For more information about the IRRO program, visit www.daf.qld.gov.au.