IT was a decade that will be remembered for its crippling drought.
But that is a cruel irony for thousands of Queenslanders who endured deadly, devastating floods which impacted vast swathes of the otherwise parched state.
The brutal force of Mother Nature was displayed early in 2011, with three-quarters of the state's council areas declared disaster areas after a massive flooding event, followed by Cyclone Yasi in North Queensland.
Communities stretching from Rockhampton and south to the Brisbane CBD were inundated with communities along the Fitzroy and Burnett Rivers also under water.
A severe thunderstorm caused flash flooding in Toowoomba's CBD, before the same storm unleashed its deadly power on the Lockyer Valley.
Residents in Grantham had little warning that a wall of water was about to engulf their community. Cars were washed away and residents clambered to their rooftops to await rescue from the fast-rising water. Tragically, at least 35 people died as a result of the event.
At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected by the flood, and the damage bill was estimated at $2.38 billion.
As Brisbane and Ipswich were inundated, questions were quickly raised about the management of the Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams during the flood. A class action was launched and in November 2019, a NSW Supreme Court found the Queensland Government, Sunwater and SEQ Water were negligent in their management of the dams.
Further north, a storm was brewing as Category 5 tropical Cyclone Yasi barrelled at full strength toward the coast.
Yasi made landfall at Mission Beach, between Cairns and Townsville about 1am on February 3, 2011. The hardest devastation was felt in towns and properties around Tully and Innisfail, still recovering from the 2006 belting from Cyclone Larry. Banana, other tropical fruit and cane farmers were heavily impacted.
While Yasi's fast movement inland after crossing the coast prevented long-lingering rainfall, major flooding was recorded in the Johnstone, Herbert, Burdekin, Haughton and Bohle rivers. Heavy rain was also recorded over the Gulf River catchments, with major flooding occurring along the Gregory River.
Two years later in January 2013, a large stretch of the east coast of Australian from North Queensland south to Illawarra experienced very heavy rainfall in late January as a result of ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald.
This rainfall resulted in severe flooding in many areas within 200km of the east coast, notably in the Burnett catchment in Queensland and the Clarence catchment in New South Wales, both of which reached record flood levels.
Coastal regions of Queensland were the most impacted with Mundubbera, Eidsvold, Gayndah and Bundaberg hit severely.
The BoM classed the flood event stemming from ex-Oswald as the largest and most significant since European settlement in areas of south east Queensland, where rainfall over 1000mm was recorded in 96 hours.
In February 2015, Cyclone Marcia rapidly intensified after forming in the Coral Sea and made landfall as a Category 4 storm at Shoalwater Bay. The cyclone caused major structural damage to houses in Yeppoon and Rockhampton and along the Capricorn Coast.
Widespread rain and flooding was associated with the system, however, it was comparatively short-lived. Residents were evacuated from Jambin, south-west of Rockhampton, while localised flooding affected Biloela. Flooding above the major flood level was recorded in the Fitzroy, Burnett and Mary river catchments.
The damage bill of the cyclone and associated flooding was estimated at $750 million.
In March 2017, Tropical Cyclone Debbie unleashed her fury, causing widespread destruction spanning from the Whitsunday region of North Queensland, right down to Lismore in NSW.
Debbie made landfall near Airlie Beach on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, after crossing the Whitsunday islands as a large and powerful Category 4 storm.
The cyclone devastated Daydream and Hamilton Islands, where the highest wind gust of 263km/h was recorded. Airlie Beach, Proserpine and Bowen all received significant damage to both structures and crops growing in the region.
As the low turned south, major floods stretched from central and south east Queensland right into northern NSW. Torrential rain lashed many regions, with Clarke Range, west of Mackay, receiving 986mm in the 48 hours to 9am March 29, while Mt Jukes, north west of Mackay, recorded 635mm in the 24 hours to 9am on March 30.
About 100 people needed help to get out of Eton and Homebush in Mackay as the Pioneer River flooded. Several locations in the Fitzroy River basin received up to 1000mm in rainfall over two days.
Disastrous river flooding occurred in the Logan and Albert Rivers in south east Queensland, and in the Tweed River basin in NSW, with 20,000 people evacuated from the Lismore and Murwillumbah areas.
There were several deaths associated with the flooding.
Townsville copped a hammering early this year, as an intense low pressure system hung over the city for 10 days. Houses were inundated, hundreds of residents evacuated and the army stepped in to rescue people caught unawares.
Then the rain started to fall in parched north west Queensland and producers were initially jubilant. But elation soon turned to despair as the monsoon lingered, flooding an area the size of Victoria.
Properties spanning from Cloncurry to Julia Creek and Richmond and up in the Gulf to Normanton were inundated, with cattle, already weak from drought, unable to escape.
Coupled with bitterly cold wind, upward of 500,000 head of cattle died during the disaster, with some graziers reporting 100 per cent loss.