Cyclone Debbie cost peaks at $1.71 billion

CYCLONE Debbie is officially Australia’s second most expensive cyclone, costing more than $1.71 billion to fix damage from Townsville in Queensland’s north to Lismore in NSW.

The Insurance Council of Australia has confirmed the cost of Debbie’s damage is second to Cyclone Tracy which devastated Darwin in December, 1974.

“It’s the most expensive cyclone to have ever hit Queensland and nationally it is second only – in today’s dollars – to Cyclone Tracy,” ICA general manager of communications Campbell Fuller said.

The category four tropical cyclone struck the Queensland coast near Airlie Beach on March 28 last year.

Over the following week it caused widespread damage in Townsville, the Whitsundays, Mackay, Central Queensland, Logan, the Gold Coast, Tweed, Ballina, Byron Bay and Lismore, destroying homes, businesses, roads and community assets over the following week.

Communities in both states are still rebuilding and the insurance claims continue to roll in.

The ICA says 95 per cent of claims have been processed, with 89 per cent coming from Queensland and 11 per cent from NSW.

Damage to private homes, motor vehicles and contents amounted to more than $978m while the bill for businesses was in excess of $733m.

A total of 64,951 domestic and 10,117 business claims have been received in the 12 months since the storm hit.

“Policy holders are still lodging claims,” Mr Fuller said.

“But across the entire disaster area, more than 95 per cent of residential building claims have been closed.”

Mr Fuller said the claims that remained open were in the Whitsundays area due to the remoteness, the damage done by extremely high wind speeds and the high number of very old buildings.

“The challenge there is that the damage tends to be greater, there may be more complex building works required and there can be issues about what was actually cyclone damage and the quality of the building before the cyclone.”

Mr Fuller said while some claims remained “challenging” the insurers had responded extremely fast.

Moving forward, Mr Fuller said he hoped NSW and Queensland governments would cut stamp duty on insurance policies so those in storm-prone areas could better cover their assets.

PHOTO: MARC STAPELBERG The iconic image of emergency services rescuing a homeless man in Lismore CBD.

PHOTO: LIAM KIDSTON DAMAGE CONTROL: Steve Andrew for a short while became the face of Cyclone Debbie in Airlie Beach. Steve sadly died of cancer a few months later.

PHOTO: GLENN HAMPSON Jarrod Chesser, Kayla Chandler and Shannen Hillman stranded after landslides took out Springbrook Rd on the Gold Coast.

PHOTO: LISA SMITH A shark is stranded in floodwaters in Ayr, as a result of Cyclone Debbie.