Cleveland disaster profile

Cleveland is a well-established bayside suburb that serves as a key civic, business and transport hub for Redlands Coast. The suburb features a mix of residential areas, commercial and industrial precincts, recreational parklands and coastal foreshores.

On this page:

Natural hazards
Critical infrastructure
Evacuation

Natural hazards

All natural hazards are possible. Understanding your risk and taking steps to prepare can help reduce the impacts of a disaster.

Use the Hazard Areas interactive map layers on the Redlands Coast Disaster Dashboard to help identify bushfire, flood/storm tide and landslide risk in your area.

Severe thunderstorms are the most common local natural hazard. Thunderstorms can develop quickly and bring heavy rain, damaging winds and lightning, resulting in localised flooding, power outages, fallen trees and debris hazards. Lightning associated with thunderstorms may also ignite bushfires.

Other potential natural hazards at Cleveland include:

Bushfire

Cleveland contains several pockets of medium to high bushfire hazard throughout the suburb. Many of these areas are located close to established residential neighbourhoods and key infrastructure, including Redland Hospital, the Enterprise Street commercial precinct and the Cleveland Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Because bushfire is a risk to all properties in Redland City, all residents should have a bushfire survival plan and all properties should be bushfire ready.

You can see bushfire hazard mapping for your area on the Redlands Coast Disaster Dashboard.

Properties adjacent to bushland are at higher risk of ember attack. Even if your property is not adjacent to bushland, ember attack is still a real risk as embers can travel kilometres ahead of a fire.

Council utilises a range of fire mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of bushfire on Council owned land and impact to surrounding areas. For more information, visit Bushfire risk mitigation program and check out the Planned Burn Program page for a map and list of locations.

For bushfire preparedness, visit the Queensland Fire Department website.

Flood / storm tide

Cleveland's primary flood risks are creek flooding, overland flow and storm tide inundation.

The suburb may experience flooding from heavy rainfall events and tidal inundation. Hilliards Creek and Ross Creek are the main waterways in the area, while lower-lying coastal areas around Cleveland Point, Raby Bay, Toondah Harbour and parts of the Cleveland peninsula may be affected during significant storm tide events. Areas around Henry Ziegenfusz Park and nearby Beach Street and South Street may also experience impacts from significant tidal inundation.

Visit Catchment areas of the Redlands to find out more about the creeks and waterways in Cleveland.

Residents should check creek flood mapping and storm tide mapping information for their suburb.

Local roads and access routes may be temporarily affected during severe weather. Check the Disaster Dashboard and Flood Cameras for the latest road conditions to plan the safest routes during severe weather.

Landslide

Cleveland generally has a low risk of landslide due to the suburb's terrain.

Limited areas of low to medium landslide risk have been identified, primarily along sections of the shoreline and in areas west of Wellington Street. Some residential development is located near these identified hazard areas.

You can see landslide hazard mapping for your area on the Redlands Coast Disaster Dashboard.

For more information on landslides, visit Get Ready Queensland.

Learn more about natural disaster risks on Redlands Coast.

Critical infrastructure

Critical infrastructure in Cleveland includes electricity, water, wastewater, telecommunications, rail services, major road networks and marine transport facilities.

The suburb is home to Redland Hospital, Cleveland railway station, Toondah Harbour, Raby Bay and many of Redland City's civic, commercial and government services.

Cleveland also serves as the primary gateway to North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), making reliable transport and utility services particularly important during emergencies.

Preparing for service disruptions

During a disaster, essential services may be disrupted for extended periods. Power outages, telecommunications interruptions, localised flooding and road closures can affect access to information, supplies and services.

Monitor official emergency information channels and prepare for the possibility of being without some services for several days. Consider how you will access emergency information if internet, mobile phone or power services have been impacted.

Ensure your household emergency kit has 5 to 7 days supply of essential items, including enough food, drinking water, medications, pet supplies and other essentials to be self-sufficient.

Loss of electricity

Power outages can occur during severe weather, flooding, bushfire or other emergency events. Be prepared for the loss of lights, refrigeration, air conditioning, electric cooking appliances and the ability to charge devices.

Stay well clear of fallen powerlines and any objects in contact with them. To report fallen powerlines, electric shocks and tingles or other electricity emergencies, call 000 or Energex on 13 19 62.

Power outages can be reported on 13 62 62, and are listed on the Disaster Dashboard or Energex Outage Finder.

Energex offer a notification service for Emergency and Planned outages visit the Energex Notifications page to register for this service.

Telecommunications interruptions

Power outages may affect mobile phone coverage, internet services and landline communications. While many mobile phone towers have battery backup systems, these operate for a limited time. NBN services, VoIP phones and cordless landline phones require power and may not operate during prolonged outages. If you have NBN, visit what happens during a power outage for information about how your connection type may be be affected.

Keep mobile devices charged and include power banks or other backup charging options in your emergency kit. Consider having alternative ways to receive emergency information if telecommunications services are disrupted.

For advice on preparing an emergency kit and planning for disruptions to critical infrastructure, visit Get Ready Queensland.

Gas, water and wastewater systems

Some properties in this suburb have on-site wastewater systems, water tanks, or use gas bottles to service hot water systems and cooking appliances. Residents should ensure gas cylinders are secure and maintained. On-site wastewater or water tank systems and may not operate during extended power outages.

Seqwater supplies bulk drinking water through the SEQ Water Grid, and Redland City Council delivers it to most properties in Redland City. Some properties use rainwater tanks. For planned and unplanned water and sewerage outages, visit the Service Interruptions page.

For advice on preparing an emergency kit and planning for disruptions to critical infrastructure, visit Get Ready Queensland.

Road and transport access

Heavy rainfall, flooding, fallen trees and storm damage may affect local roads and transport routes. Conditions can change quickly during severe weather and some roads may become unsafe or inaccessible. Visit Roads affected by local flooding for a suburb-by-suburb list of roads that have experienced flooding in the past.

Check the Disaster Dashboard and Flood Cameras for the latest road conditions.

Never drive through floodwater. If it's flooded, forget it.

Harbours and Marinas

Cleveland is home to key marine infrastructure, including Toondah Harbour and Raby Bay Marina and canal estate. Toondah Harbour provides the ferry and barge connection to North Stradbroke Island, with 2 passenger ferry services and one 1 vehicle barge service.

Raby Bay Marina is a busy residential, commercial and boating hub with berthing, refuelling and charter facilities. Small boat moorings along the Cleveland coastline may also be vulnerable to storm tide damage.