Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred sparks call to cyclone-proof homes as far south as northern NSW

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The damage of Ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred in northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland has blown a billion-dollar hole in the nations coffers. That is the message the Treasurer has delivered ahead of this week’s federal budget. Compounding that message is a warning that Alfred should be treated as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for even more powerful cyclones predicted to hit further south. There are growing calls for homes as far south as New South Wales to be built to a cyclone standard.

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00:00When Cyclone Alfred started making its presence felt off southeast Queensland, it came as

00:14quite the shock.

00:16While the region's endured its fair share of floods, a cyclone hadn't ventured that

00:21far south in five decades.

00:24I think Cyclone Alfred gives us a wake up call.

00:28Researcher Cheryl Desher did everything she could to prepare her Brisbane home.

00:34The Science and Innovation Director at Natural Hazards Research Australia had already started

00:40modest cyclone-proofing works last year.

00:44Her builder was sceptical, but Cheryl Desher was confident it was a matter of when, not

00:49if, a cyclone would hit Brisbane.

00:52The research is really clear that cyclones and severe weather events are coming south

00:59along the Queensland and Australian coastline, and that our severe weather events will become

01:05more severe.

01:07Cyclone Alfred hovered off the coast as a Category 3, but was downgraded to a Category

01:131 when it slammed into the islands of Moreton Bay.

01:19By the time it reached Brisbane, it was a tropical low, but Alfred still left a trail

01:25of destruction.

01:26It gouged the Gold Coast's famous beaches, trees and power lines were felled, causing

01:33the biggest power outage from a natural disaster in Queensland's history.

01:39And it brought flooding rain.

01:41Across the border in New South Wales, parts of the flood-weary Northern Rivers region

01:46once again went under.

01:49Yet despite the far-reaching damage and the massive hit to the Australian economy, authorities

01:55declared the region had dodged a bullet.

01:57It could have been a lot worse.

01:59At one stage it could have been a Category 3 crossing the coast, and you'd have to ask

02:04whether a lot of the infrastructure would be capable of handling winds of that intensity.

02:09Steve Turton thinks residents and authorities need to treat Cyclone Alfred like a dress

02:14rehearsal for worse to come.

02:17This was a good practice run because we do know that with climate change the tropical

02:21cyclones are moving southward in our hemisphere, quite fast actually, anywhere between 50 to

02:28120 kilometres per decade.

02:34At James Cook University's Cyclone Testing Station, David Henderson is assessing the

02:39impacts cyclonic winds have on our homes.

02:42We're getting water coming into our buildings through windows that pass a very low standard.

02:47This event highlighted how much water can come into our buildings during an event that's

02:52well below our desired capacity for strength.

02:55It's a wake-up call for regions that haven't had to factor cyclones into their disaster

03:01planning until now.

03:04In Queensland there are specific building guidelines for homes in cyclone-prone areas,

03:09that is from Cape York down to Bundaberg.

03:12There are now calls for those cyclone ratings to apply along the entire Queensland coast

03:17and extend into New South Wales.

03:20I would suggest it needs to go down to at least Coffs Harbour.

03:23Just because it's not officially on the map as a cyclone zone, cyclones don't read the map.

03:28As two states count the cost of the disaster, Cheryl Desher believes Alfred has given us

03:33an opportunity, so long as we're willing to heed its lessons.

03:38To be able to have those conversations now about what it could mean for a category two

03:43or a three, that's something that has us pause and really we're waking up to what that might

03:49mean for the severe weather events that are in front of us.

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