Some areas of Queensland are so flood-prone they should never have been built on and should be declared no-go zones, according to an international disaster expert, Professor Ed Blakely, who says extreme weather events are becoming increasingly more frequent and far more devastating.

"We shouldn't regard this [flood] as freakish," said Professor Ed Blakely, who ran the recovery of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina and was involved in New York's after 9/11. "We should assume they are going to occur because of climate change. They are becoming increasingly frequent and far more devastating."

He warned it was also time to examine the need for Queenslanders to "retreat from the coast" to escape rising sea levels. "It will take 60-75 years, so we have got to start now," he said. "It's very important for us to see not just this incident but the long-term trend and learn from it and plan for it."

Professor Blakely, nick-named "the master of disaster", is professor of urban policy at Sydney University. He will keynote on this subject at the 4th Healthy Cities Conference: Making Cities Liveable being held at the Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort & Spa, Noosa from the 28th - 29th July 2011. Details about the conference and Professor Blakely can be found at www.healthycities.com.au.