Housing damage in windstorms and mitigation for Australia

Windstorms cause most of the damage to housing in Australia. Population growth is exposing more people and buildings to risks from these wind hazards. Houses and components are currently designed and built to standards aligned with the Building Code of Australia. Regulatory measures including building inspections are meant to ensure acceptable quality of construction. Inspections and post windstorm damage surveys have consistently shown that contemporary houses (post 1980) perform better than older houses (pre 1980) in cyclone and non cyclone areas. However, errors in design and construction found during recent surveys, reduce the resilience of contemporary housing. Geoscience Australia is developing a software tool for assessing the vulnerability of housing, using empirical models, expert opinion, and engineering methods. These models could be used to assess vulnerability of a range of house types and also recommend adaptation measure to account for increases in the intensity of windstorms in Australia