North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) disaster profile
North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) is the world's second-largest sand island. The island features diverse coastal and natural environments, including beaches, bushland, wetlands and freshwater lakes, and is home to communities across Dunwich, Point Lookout and Amity Point.
On this page:
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 on North Stradbroke Island include:
Bushfire
The majority of North Stradbroke Island has a high to very high bushfire risk.
All townships on the island adjoin, or fall into, very high bushfire risk areas, the main areas of risk are:
- Dunwich – along Rainbow and Illawong Crescents and the One Mile and Two Mile communities
- Amity – to the east of the township, effectively surrounding the small Flinders Beach residential community and covering the Flinders Beach camping areas to Point Lookout
- Point Lookout – the ridgeline areas along Tramican and Donahue Streets, and across to George Nothling Drive and stretching further east to Samarinda Way.
Main Beach and Flinders Beach camping sites fall within high-risk bushfire areas, which do not have mains water supply, are more isolated from services and have limited access points.
A number of agencies including Redland City Council (RCC), Queensland Fire Department (QFD), Seqwater, Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service & Partnerships (QPWS&P) work together to manage bushfire risk on the island.
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 prone / storm tide
In a large storm tide event, the greatest effects would likely be felt to the north of the island from Amity Point along the Flinders Beach areas to Point Lookout.
During an event, mapping indicates the Amity Point community could possibly become isolated and campsites on Flinders Beach could be inundated.
Point Lookout itself may experience some inundation along Home Beach from Adder Rock.
Dunwich may experience some localised flooding along Flinders Avenue and Norfolk Street
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
The highest risk of land slippage at Point Lookout has been identified around Tramican Street, Cumming Parade, Samarinda Way and East Coast Road.
In Dunwich the areas of highest risk have been identified around Rainbow Crescent and Illawong Crescent.
Mitigation strategies to reduce the effects of landslide in these areas are regulated under the Redland City Plan and are based on engineering solutions at the time of the development.
After bushfires, heavy rain combined with a loss of plants and roots can make the ground soft and heavy, leading to a greater chance of landslides.
Queensland Fire Department assess landslide prone areas after a significant bushfire to determine if there is a landslide hazard risk.
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 on North Stradbroke Island includes essential services such as electricity, water, sewerage, telecommunications and sea transport. The island includes the communities of Dunwich, Amity Point and Point Lookout, which are connected by a network of local roads and public transport services.
Preparing for service disruptions and isolation
During a disaster, island residents and visitors may experience isolation due to disrupted transport links, flooding or other hazards. Impacts to essential services may also continue after a disaster, including disruptions to power, telecommunications and transport services.
Monitor official emergency information channels and be prepared for extended periods without access to some services. Consider how you will access emergency information if internet, mobile phone or power services become unavailable on the island.
Ensure your household emergency kit has 5 to 7 days supply of essential items, including food, drinking water, medications, pet supplies and other necessities.
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 Emergencies 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 on the island. 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
Many properties on the islands 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.
Sea transport
Access to and from the island relies on passenger ferry (water taxi) and vehicle barge services operating between Cleveland (Toondah Harbour) and Dunwich. Services may be suspended during severe weather or disrupted due to debris in the water.
Residents and visitors to North Stradbroke Island/Minjerribah should monitor their local sea transport operators for service changes during disasters:
Evacuation
During a disaster or emergency, local Evacuation Centres or Assembly Areas may be activated as required.
Do not travel to an Evacuation Centre or Assembly Area unless it has been announced that it is activated and open.
Check the latest evacuation advice and activated Evacuation Centres
If an evacuation is issued, follow the directions of emergency services and refer to the Evacuation in a disaster page about evacuating safely.
Residents should prepare for the possibility of evacuation by ensuring their household emergency plan and emergency kit is up-to-date.
Nominated Evacuation Centres for North Stradbroke Island
The nominated locations below may not be activated for every emergency and may change depending on the type of disaster, affected areas and local conditions. Always check the
Disaster Dashboard and other official emergency communication channels before travelling.
4 Ballow Road, Dunwich
Ph: 3289 8999
16 Ballow Street, Amity Point
Ph: 3289 8999
50 East Coast Road, Point Lookout
Ph: 3289 8999