Each community is unique in its spatial and social context and in its autonomous ability to cope with disasters. Local knowledge can help a rural community manage climate-linked disasters and understand how it accesses and uses this knowledge to manage and progress through such an event. Mundubbera, in South-east Queensland, experienced a major flood event in December 2010 and again in January 2013. These were the first major floods in the area since 1942. The knowledge derived and kept alive by people living in a place, together with their connection to that place, proved pivotal in designing and directing the management of the flood events. It was experiential knowledge created over time that was different to the mapping and projections derived from scientific knowledge and was at the core of the disaster management response. The social fabric of the community is key in regional areas that are geographically isolated in times of disasters. Residents rely on their existing networks and experiences to provide resources and support each other when they are isolated from surrounding townships and unable to receive assistance from external agencies. It is the people on the ground, the people who have experienced past floods who have the most experience and knowledge as to how to respond and adapt to future events. Local knowledge is unique to each community and changes over time, yet it contributes to local place-identities. The strength of the community and connection to place enabled the residents of Mundubbera to respond to, and recover from, the flood events, they were ‘Dubbs people’ who helped each other because ‘this is what we do here’.