ROAD TO RESILIENCE

Protecting everyday Queenslanders against future natural disasters

- KYLIE BARACZ

Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent in Australia, especially in the tropical state of Queensland. Cyclones, bushfires and floods ravage the northern state, and this is more commonly seen due to the effects of climate change.

“Climate change is something that’s happening, and I don’t think anyone would be denying that as we see extreme weather impacting our communities,” says Rockhampton mayor, Tony Williams. Currently, 97 per cent of the country’s disaster funding is spent on recovery, while only three per cent is used on resilience and mitigation efforts that could prevent devastation and displacement in the first place.

Suncorp plans to help ensure the homes in every street, neighbourhood and community can stand up to every storm — not just recover from them. Welcome to the Resilience Rd project.

RESILIENCE RD

The Resilience Rd project has taken an average suburban street in the severely weather-affected area of Rockhampton and upgraded five family homes using everyday, affordable additions to improve their resilience in the face of a major climate event.

“We know that Rocky is now a place where the extreme weather is going to keep coming,” says Lyn Thomas, who lives in House No. 6 with her partner Steve. Brad Dixon, who lives in No. 10, agrees. “It doesn’t rain all the time, but when it does, it buckets down. You want to protect the things that you love, so adding protection to the home is always a good thing.”