Bracken Ridge recorded Queensland’s highest number of home insurance claims linked to extreme weather during the devastating 2022 floods, according to newly released data examining five years of storm damage across the state.
The Suncorp Insurance analysis, released in October 2026, examined more than 126,000 home claims lodged between the 2021–22 and 2025–26 financial years. Bracken Ridge led Queensland in 2021–22, when extraordinary rainfall and widespread flooding affected Southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales.
Six days of exceptional rainfall across Brisbane
The 2022 flood disaster followed one of Brisbane’s most intense periods of sustained rainfall, with several consecutive days of heavy downpours overwhelming waterways and drainage systems.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane recorded 792.8 millimetres of rain between 23 and 28 February 2022, equivalent to 78 per cent of its average annual rainfall at the official city gauge.
The city’s February rainfall reached 887 millimetres, making it the second-wettest February on record after 1893. Daily totals exceeded 200 millimetres on three consecutive days from 26 to 28 February, an unprecedented sequence in Brisbane’s historical rainfall records.
Saturated catchments and sustained heavy rain contributed to widespread river, creek and flash flooding across the region. The exceptional conditions coincided with the financial year in which Bracken Ridge topped Suncorp’s claims ranking, although the insurer did not publish a separate breakdown of flood, wind or storm claims for the suburb.
As It Happened in 2022
Cabbage Tree Creek remains part of local flood monitoring
Bracken Ridge forms part of the wider Cabbage Tree Creek catchment, which extends through Brisbane’s northern suburbs towards the coastal lowlands around Deagon and Sandgate.
The suburb is included in Brisbane’s Greater Deagon flood alert area, alongside Deagon, Sandgate and Taigum. The Brisbane Severe Weather Alert network provides access to local flood monitoring information, including creek conditions during periods of heavy rainfall.
Flood exposure differs considerably between individual properties according to elevation, drainage and proximity to waterways. Inclusion in the catchment or alert area does not mean every Bracken Ridge home is exposed to creek flooding.
Bracken Ridge hosts flood insurance support
The scale of the 2022 disaster prompted the insurance industry to organise face-to-face community meetings across Queensland as households dealt with damaged properties and insurance claims.
Bracken Ridge Tavern was selected as the Brisbane North venue for an Insurance Council of Australia meeting scheduled for 15 June 2022. The event was intended to give flood-affected policyholders an opportunity to discuss their claims with insurers, raise concerns and obtain information about the recovery process.
Similar sessions were arranged in Gympie, Maryborough, Forest Lake and Ipswich. The Insurance Council also identified delays involving building supplies and contractors among the difficulties facing flood-affected households across Queensland.
By September 2022, the Insurance Council reported that the February–March disaster had generated more than 233,000 claims and approximately $5.28 billion in insured losses across affected regions.
Bracken Ridge’s ranking gives way to other hotspots
Bracken Ridge’s position at the top of Queensland’s 2021–22 claims ranking was followed by a succession of severe weather events affecting other parts of the state.
Maryborough led the insurer’s records in 2022–23, followed by Gympie in 2023–24 and Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast in 2024–25. Manly West became Queensland’s leading hotspot in 2025–26.
Suncorp Executive General Manager Home Insurance Anna Cartwright said the latest analysis demonstrated how quickly the concentration of claims could change between communities following major weather events.
The rankings cover Suncorp Insurance and AAMI customers rather than all Queensland households. No suburb-specific claims total was published for Bracken Ridge, and its absence from the top position in subsequent years does not establish that its weather-related risks have diminished.
Where residents can check their flood risk
Bracken Ridge homeowners can access Brisbane’s FloodWise Property Report service to check available flood information for their address, including relevant flood levels and hazards where modelling exists.
Brisbane’s Severe Weather Alert network also provides information on local flood monitoring, while residents can prepare for future heavy rainfall by checking gutters, downpipes and drainage around their properties.
Published 16-Oct-2026
