Flood, cyclone or fire: how to disaster-proof your home

If there’s one thing we can learn from The Three Little Pigs, it’s to never trust a hungry wolf. Also, that when it comes to building your home, it’s essential to cater to the environment at hand. While we needn’t fear the gusty exhalations of a ravenous canine, our land down under does come with a plethora of climatic conditions with which to contend.

The past few years have seen a rise in extreme weather events, with bushfires and floods joining the cyclones that north-western Australia and north-eastern Queensland already face.

The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements undertaken in 2020 found that the majority of Australian houses were not resilient to natural disasters. The Bushfire Building Council estimates that “90% of buildings in bushfire-prone areas in Australia have not been built to bushfire planning and construction regulations because they were built prior to regulation being applied.”

Additionally, the Resilient Home Report published by Suncorp last year showed that Australian homeowners tend to prioritise aesthetics over resilience when making improvements and modifications to their homes. The survey of 1195 Australian homeowners found that almost half (46%) didn’t consider the impacts of natural disasters when deciding on where to live or move to, while over half (52%) didn’t take natural disasters into account when selecting the type of house to live in. While 62% of Australians surveyed would be willing to spend on updating their interior aesthetics or renovating the kitchen (54%) or bathroom (52%), a mere 14% would consider investing in home enhancements to protect against natural disasters.

Fortunately, homeowners can safeguard against risk by taking considered steps towards a disaster-proof home.

Prior to committing to a property, it’s essential to get the lay of the land. While Suncorp’s data shows many Australians don’t take this into account when searching for properties, researching factors such as elevation, weather and coastal proximity can aid in avoiding disasters in the future. Additionally, these factors are instrumental in calculating the cost of your home insurance in the future.

Elevation

Property elevation can play a crucial role in determining resilience to natural disasters. Bushfires tend to burn faster as they move uphill, however lower elevation can make homes more susceptible to coastal erosion and flooding. As a country of ocean lovers, considering vulnerability to coastal erosion is essential, with rising sea levels making it risky to live too close to the water.

Wind speeds

With the exception of a few properties in Queensland and Western Australia, most homes in Australia are not built to withstand extreme winds. It can be beneficial to understand the typical wind speeds in potential (or your current) location; these can be checked on the Windfinder website.

One House, a joint initiative by Suncorp, CSIRO, James Cook University and Room 11 architects, sought to create a disaster-proof prototype house. The project reimagines the iconic Queenslander as a contemporary home with features specifically selected to withstand extreme weather events such as bushfires, floods and cyclones at a price comparable to a standard architect-designed home.

With bushfires an almost annual weather occurrence for many Australians, it’s essential for those in medium- to high-risk areas to be appropriately prepared.

Timber is a commonly used material in Australian homes; unfortunately, it burns rapidly and leaves homes vulnerable to cavity fires within the walls, roof or ceiling during the hot, dry conditions of a bushfire. Investing in non-combustible building materials such as autoclaved aerated concrete and core-filled block can aid in bushfire-proofing your home. At the very least, it’s advisable to clad pre-existing structures in non-combustible materials.

Glazed windows and doors can aid in keeping embers out and prevent some of the radiant heat from bushfires from entering your home. Toughened glass is also advisable to prevent heat-induced cracking.

Research from the One House project further recommends all doors to be tight fitting, with gaps of no more than 2mm. If the original structure doesn’t allow this, weather draft strips and seals should be installed.

In highly bushfire-prone areas, it can also be beneficial to have dual water tanks – one for firefighting and the other as a backup water supply.

Building materials for facades and internal wall linings such as rendered concrete block or fibre cement sheets can help safeguard against heavy rains and flooding. Inside the house, steel or hardwood framing and closed-cell solid insulation are good materials to consider. Polished concrete or hardwood timber flooring can also help prevent mould and related damage after floods or heavy rain.

For new builds, raising the height of the house can prevent flooding within the house. In renovations and new builds alike, elevating electrical units and systems can aid in avoiding damage to these, while installing electrical wiring in the roof can prevent loss of power during a flood.

Roof guttering should also be considered, with the current guttering on many old houses too small to handle the increasingly heavy rains. Slotted gutters can help keep water out of your house.

Timber should be avoided in cyclone-prone areas, as it can be susceptible to corrosion and rot over time. Like flood- and bushfire-proof homes, aerated concrete and core-filled block are advisable building materials.

In addition to considered roofing materials, cyclone-rated roof fixings are essential to prevent a ‘flying roof’ during severe weather events. A strap- or tie-down system that connects the roof with your home’s concrete base is ideal.

Those in areas prone to cyclones should invest in external screens and shutters to add a layer of protection to glazed windows and doors. These can secure your window and door glass in the event of high winds and flying debris.

In high-wind areas, anything and everything has the potential to become flying debris. To tackle this, it’s advisable to consider protective outdoor storage to conceal loose items in the event of a storm or cyclone. A core-filled block is used as an outdoor storage solution in the One House prototype.

Start the process of safeguarding your home against natural disasters by consulting a trusted architect or builder on ArchiPro.