Flood cost to worsen

Build smarter, report says

RECENT flooding events including Townsville’s 2019 flood disaster have highlighted the need to overhaul Australia’s land-use planning rules arrangements.

A new report released on Thursday by the Insurance Council of Australia called Flooding and Future Risks identifies the need for an overhaul of the rules governing how and where new homes are built to protect Australians from worsening flood risk.

Drawing on analysis conducted by James Cook University’s Cyclone Testing Station in association with Risk Frontiers, the report is based on data gathered from thousands of flood claims covering four recent flood events.

It identifies flooding as one of the costliest extreme weather events in Australia, leaving Townsville with a $606m damage bill in 2019, and this year’s floods across South East Queensland and northern NSW had a $3.34bn damage bill – the most expensive ever.

As the climate continues to warm, the report noted that existing flood zones were likely to expand and expose more property and assets, placing more than one million private properties, or about one in 10 homes, at some level of flood risk nationwide.

ICA chief executive Andrew Hall said the report underscored the need to make better decisions in land use planning, building standards and government investment in mitigation works to end the cycle of flood impacts.

The ICA made a number of recommendations based on issues identified by the report.

With modern-day land use planning settings not adequately protecting property from flood risk, it recommended that new developments adhere to provisions in the floodplain handbook while considering the likelihood of extreme flooding events.

The ICA wants an overhaul of Australian building codes and standards to prioritise resilience as a principal underpinning the design standards. This includes developing products offering a reduction in risk to homes in flood zones, while aiming to reduce the overall cost of flood-resistant construction and retrofit solutions.

The ICA wants more investment in observation networks to monitor flood events, to be provided post-event hazard footprints showing water depth in a flood database, and to develop an asset register to improve risk assessment and awareness.

Regarding houses built prior to the year 2000, the ICA has called for increased Commonwealth spending on extreme weather resilience measures from $100m to at least $200m a year, or $1bn over the next five years, matched by the states.

“This includes resilience measures targeted at flooding such as a $522m Local Infrastructure Fund to assess and implement measures to protect communities from floods, such as levees and flood ways,” the report said.