Our long-standing relationship with James Cook University’s Cyclone Testing Station (JCU CTS) has provided impetus for government funding to retrofit of thousands of homes in Queensland, improved building codes, increased understanding of the risk of cyclones, and provided compelling evidence to inform decision making.
The genesis of understanding vulnerability to severe wind began at the JCU CTS in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Tracey. JCU CTS collaborated for many years with Geoscience Australia through its Cities Projects, which assessed vulnerability to geological hazards across Australia.
The Centre advanced this work with the Severe Wind Resilience project in 2021, looking at the resilience of building stock to extreme winds, and the efficacy and economic benefits of retrofitting buildings.
The findings have been incorporated into numerous tools, policy guidelines and other resources that have supported governments, the insurance industry, the building industry and the public to improve resilience of the built environment to severe weather events.
The research has been used in:
Dr Jane Sexton, Director, State Intelligence, Predictions and Planning at the Queensland Fire Department, says multiple research inputs and collaboration is critical to the positive steps that are being made in Queensland to reduce severe wind risk.
“The Natural Hazards Research Australia support of damage surveys has been important as it will inform the continual evolution the damage models that we will use into the future,” she says.
In the immediate aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Alfred in 2025, we worked again with JCU CTS to critically evaluate the structural and inundation impacts of the cyclone.
Although we found the large population in south-east Queensland and north-east NSW had ‘dodged a bullet’, we identified several ways in which buildings can be improved to increase resilience.
The research has also led to a new project, Multihazard resilient buildings, which is reviewing current building standards and guidance in relation to muti-hazards across Australia, with a focus on NSW. The findings of this project will inform future updates to building standards and guidelines, ensuring a more resilient built environment capable of withstanding multiple hazards.
