Community supports UQ

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Tags: engagement, flood recovery, volunteers, winter-2011

Volunteers help clean the running track at the UQ Athletics Centre

“A positive outcome of the flooding has been greater community acceptance of the University as being an integral part of it, and not so much a world set apart from everyday problems.”

So wrote UQ publication University News, discussing the inundation of the St Lucia campus in the 1974 Australia Day floods.

Fast forward to January 2011 and UQ was again both the recipient of community help and an important resource for others.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield said although the St Lucia and Gatton campuses sustained damage in the extensive flooding, most of the University’s teaching and research buildings were untouched.

The flood peak of 4.46 metres in Brisbane on January 13 was below the 1974 highwater mark of 5.45 metres.

In low-lying areas, sporting facilities, some research infrastructure, two childcare centres and International House were damaged.

Customs House temporarily lost power and there was some flooding at the Pinjarra Hills and Indooroopilly facilities. While the Gatton campus was isolated and became a temporary home to 55 people, the Herston and Ipswich campuses were not affected.

“The University is grateful to its dedicated staff, students, contractors and volunteers who helped recovery operations to proceed at a faster pace than expected so UQ was in an excellent position to resume operations within a week of the floods,” Professor Greenfield said.

Griffith University, Southern Cross University and the University of the Sunshine Coast generously provided assistance with routine tasks to free UQ Property and Facilities staff for flood recovery efforts.

The University’s students, staff and alumni also took to the streets assisting people in nearby suburbs and regions.

UQ researchers contributed intellectual firepower, providing expert media commentary and investigating the floods’ effects on the community and environment — just as their predecessors had in 1974.

By Jan King

Spreading the word

UQ utilised a variety of traditional and new media to keep staff, students and the general public updated during the January floods.

The UQ homepage was transformed into a resource centre with regular updates and answers to frequently asked questions for staff and students. The University also established an SMS inquiry service and two 24-hour flood hotlines which received more than 1000 calls.

UQ communications staff regularly posted messages and news releases via the @uqnewsonline Twitter account, and also loaded daily photo updates to UQ’s flickr page, which peaked at almost 50,000 views per day.

With Summer Semester classes ready to resume, two UQ News TV stories were also produced to share the latest images and information with viewers around the world.

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