Cyclone Testing Station

David Henderson

David Henderson

Simon Ingham

Simon Ingham

Daniel Smith

Daniel Smith

A smartphone-based decision tool to stimulate cyclone mitigation. (Old ID 22537)
Daniel Smith
30 Mar 2016 - 29 Mar 2019
Issues surrounding losses to the community from cyclone damage and associated premium affordability in Queensland have been highlighted with the advent of the Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce, a Productivity Commission review and a number of Australian Government Actuary reports. Their findings based on consultation with communities, governments and industry show benefits to be achieved from mitigation (e.g., to improve structural aspects of buildings to reduce damage from future severe wind events). The goal of this project is to develop and actionable, research-based approach to mitigation in Queensland and other wind-prone regions of Australia. However, engineering solutions to vulnerability are only effective if widely implemented, requiring an appreciation of factors that homeowners reflect on when considering mitigation. Therefore, this project will also identify drivers of homeowner engagement. Coupling engineering analysis with effective methods of incentivising homeowner engagement, a vehicle for risk communication will be developed in the form of a mobile application. An alpha version of the decision-support tool will be constructed and tested for effectiveness. The benefits to Queensland include simulation of mitigation action among homeowners, reduction of loss and suffering from severe wind events and insurance premium reductions from enhanced housing resilience.