Counting the cost of climate chaos
The deadly NSW floods of 2022 – the state’s worst in history - carried the fingerprint of climate change, says the national Climate Council.
THE catastrophic floods of 2022 aka The Great Deluge – now deemed the worst floods in NSW history with 20 people dying nationally – had “the fingerprints of climate change” according to The Climate Council.
Communities like Lismore, in northern NSW, copped the brunt with an unexpectedly high flood peak of 14.4m – 2.3m higher than the previous record.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) estimated the widespread disaster racked up $3.35 billion in insured losses, making it ‘the costliest flood in Australia’s history’ and the fifth most costly disaster Australia-wide after the Eastern Sydney Hailstorm (1999, $5.57 billion), Cyclone Tracey (1974, $5.04 billion), Cyclone Dinah (1967, $4.69 billion) and the Newcastle Earthquake (1989, $4.24 billion).
AdaptNSW says flooding in NSW costs the economy about $250 million every year and climate change is expected to make storm and flood events more severe. Groundsure’s analysis says, “Flooding from rivers, estuaries and sea level rise poses the single greatest physical climate risk to properties in Australia. This is being driven by ever more frequent weather systems dumping record breaking rainfall amounts, especially across NSW and Queensland.
“This has inevitably meant huge increases in insurance premiums, with many areas close to rivers and coasts now finding effective and affordable cover impossible. This can also have the knock-on effect that securing the mortgage can become a real challenge.”
Of concern, the ICA says 229,455 properties in Australia have a 5% flood annual exceedance probability (AEP), known as a 1-in-20 year flood risk. And more than half of those properties (123,475) are in NSW.
For some families on the Hawkesbury River, the July 2022 flood was the fourth time in 18 months their region was inundated. With the flow-on effect meaning insurance premiums skyrocketed.
The AIC estimates 11% of Australian properties are currently uninsured. “Affordability and availability of insurance is critical for Australia’s economy and communities,” says the Council. “For insurers to continue to provide affordable cover, action is required to strengthen the resilience of homes, businesses and communities.
“Ensuring Australians know the risks up-front in a transaction is key to building a more resilient future.”
