Disasters hit 18 million Australians – and the number is growing

Almost every person in NSW and Queensland was hit with a natural disaster in the past 12 months, research has revealed, prompting calls for all levels of government to sink more money into safeguarding important infrastructure and consider moving residents to safer areas.

Ahead of what is expected to be a dangerous bushfire season, the research by KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley shows the number of people affected by natural disasters is growing, with the number of communities directly affected also increasing.

Queensland’s floods of early 2022 hit transport infrastructure along the Brisbane River.Credit:

Rawnsley found 18.1 million people were affected by flood through 2022, the largest direct impact of any natural disaster, going back to the mid-2010s.

Of that number, 7.6 million or 93 per cent of all people in NSW had their daily lives changed in some way by flooding. In Queensland about 97 per cent of residents or 5.3 million were affected, while in Victoria almost 4.6 million.

Storms affected 7.6 million people in NSW, 5.3 million in Queensland and just over 4.6 million in Victoria for a national total of almost 18 million, making it the second-largest natural disaster in Rawnsley’s records. About 70 per cent lived in a local government area affected by floods or storms.

Last year’s heavy rains meant the only jurisdiction with many people hit by bushfire was South Australia, at just 8000. That compares with 8.3 million people affected by fires during 2019.

Rawnsley said the numbers showed the growing importance of governments to protect critical infrastructure from the impact of climate change.

“A significant portion of our current infrastructure was originally constructed to withstand weather conditions based on historical patterns,” he said.

“It is highly probable that natural disasters and extreme events will continue to present substantial fiscal risks and impact to Australia’s productivity. Therefore we must act now to ensure we have resilient infrastructure for future Australians.”

According to the Insurance Council of Australia, the 2021-22 financial year was the worst in history for natural disaster-related insurance costs, at $7.3 billion. The flooding of south-east Queensland and northern NSW alone cost more than $6 billion.

Last financial year the insurance bill from natural disasters dropped sharply to $1.6 billion. The worst single event were the floods of October through to December that caused $736 million in insurance losses across Tasmania, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

The Bureau of Meteorology is yet to declare an El Nino event, which is normally associated with drought conditions. But last week it warned that most of southern and eastern Australia would face “warmer and drier than average conditions” between October and December.

It also noted global warming continued to influence the climate. Global sea surface temperatures set records this year, with July and August the hottest and second-hottest months ever.

Terry Rawnsley says record numbers of Australians are now being affected in some way by natural disasters.Credit: Arsineh Houspian

Rawnsley said reducing the exposure and vulnerability of communities to natural disasters had to be considered. This could include redirecting population growth away from high-risk areas through stronger land use planning.

Better building codes and the construction of protective infrastructure, such as strengthening bridges, also had to be on the agenda for all governments.

The federal government last year created the Disaster Ready Fund, which provides up to $200 million a year towards projects to improve resilience to, or reduce the risk of, future natural disasters.

Planned to operate for five years, its first round of funding provided support for flood levees, an improved pollen forecasting network for much of Australia, the protection of electricity networks in isolated regional communities, and stormwater upgrades.

Rawnsley said incorporating adaption measures into retro-fitting and infrastructure replacement would also help prevent long-term disruptions to communities.

“Disaster costs are not born equally across our communities, and it is often those with the least capacity to absorb these costs that are impacted the most,” he said.

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