Desperate victims of last year's floods will be offered a new opportunity to lift their homes out of danger, as the Queensland government expands its flood resilience program. 1,200 people who were previously ineligible will be given $100,000 to raise their houses and help them move on with their lives.
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00:00 It's 2022. A ceaseless tide has swallowed the Padden family's paddocks and is now entering
00:09 their house. We lost all uses of our essential services.
00:14 As well as precious possessions and a feeling of safety that still hasn't returned.
00:20 The flow and effect from that was that how are we going to protect ourselves in the future
00:25 now? How are we going to ensure that our children don't have to go through this again in the
00:29 future and again and again? Last February's floods damaged more than 9,000
00:34 properties across more than half of Queensland's councils. The state government established
00:39 a $741 million fund. This is the largest residential reconstruction
00:45 program since the rebuild after Cyclone Tracy. It included grants for flood victims to raise
00:50 their houses but only under strict criteria which the Padden family didn't meet.
00:57 I cried. It was very emotional. Homes had to be flooded above the floor and
01:03 that floor had to be below the local council's assessed flood level.
01:07 Now we're saying it's one or the other and so that significantly expands the reach of
01:13 the program. To now include the Paddens.
01:16 My husband and I both got really emotional and we were laughing and clapping and high
01:21 fiving. The expansion means more than 1,200 extra
01:24 homeowners will receive up to $100,000 to lift their properties above flood levels.
01:30 The government's also relaxing restrictions on grants provided to retrofit properties.
01:35 That money can now be used to rebuild or raise homes.
01:39 That means households that are still trying to get back on their feet have renewed hope.
01:45 Determined to stay high and dry.
01:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]