Rockhampton homes upgraded as part of Suncorp’s Resilience Road project

Upgrades have been made to five homes on a Rockhampton street, including the home of a family whose roof “peeled back like a sardine can” during Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015, with features designed to better protect against extreme weather. Full details.

Upgrades have been made to five homes on a Rockhampton Street, including the home of a family whose roof “peeled back like a sardine can” during Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015, with features designed to better protect against extreme weather.

Suncorp Insurance made upgrades to homes on Bowen Street in The Range to demonstrate how simple it can be to make your home safer in the event of a natural disaster.

Dubbed ‘Resilience Road’, it puts into practice the innovation of Suncorp’s One House prototype launched in 2021, showing how practical and accessible features like installing ember guards or cyclone mesh screens can make homes stronger and safer.

Kimberly Miller, who lives on Resilience Road, said having grown up in Rockhampton and never gone through a cyclone that had hit, she was sceptical Cyclone Marcia was going to make impact.

Kim and Josh Miller with their kids in front of their home on Resilience Road. Picture: Contributed

“We were home at the time,” Ms Miller said.

“We did prepare the house, we put everything in from out in the yard.

“We weren’t expecting the roof to come off.

“It came off fairly early in the cyclone. It was very scary.”

Damage at the Miller’s house on Bowen Street, The Range, after Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015. Picture: Contributed

She said getting the house repaired was a lengthy process and her family was living away from home for about 10 months.

She said Suncorp was looking for a street where they could make improvements to a number of houses to make them more resilient and that her family offered their house to be part of the Resilience Road project.

“An assessment was done on our house and other houses in the street to see what modifications could be made to make our houses more resilient in severe weather events,” she said.

“Each house had different modifications.

The Miller’s house on Bowen Street, The Range, after Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015. Picture: Contributed

“The carport got re-roofed. A thicker material was used and cyclonic screw assembly.

“They moved the air-conditioning units from the external wall to under the house. We also got a Crimsafe back door.

“I am confident that in a major cyclone we would be okay. I am confident our house would not suffer major damage.

“We are not going to stop severe weather but it’s about trying to prepare our homes for it and get people thinking what they can do to their home to make it more resilient.”

Damage at the Miller’s house on Bowen Street, The Range, after Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015. Picture: Contributed

Suncorp’s Bernadette Norrie said Resilience Road aimed to encourage homeowners, builders, and government to make home resilience a priority.

“We see first-hand the impact extreme weather has on people’s lives, livelihoods and our broader society and economy,” Ms Norrie said.

“While these upgrades are not a silver bullet to avoiding extreme weather, it is all about helping protect homes and the Australian way of life by lessening the impacts.

“As a nation we must boost investment in stronger homes and local infrastructure that makes communities safer and more resilient.

Damage at the Miller’s house on Bowen Street, The Range, after Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015. Picture: Contributed

“Australian homes aren’t as strong and safe as they could be, and many homeowners aren’t aware of what they can do to reduce the impacts of extreme weather without costing a fortune.

“The houses on Resilience Road had upgrades that ranged from $200 for a weather seal installation on an external door to $6000 to install Crimsafe screens to stop wind-driven projectiles.

“We took the lessons from our One House partnership with James Cook University and the CSIRO, and then worked with builders and suppliers to determine what upgrades could be done to better protect the families next time they face extreme weather.

“If we can improve building resilience and adapt to a future of more extreme weather, generations to come will be better protected and less likely to be displaced before, during, and after natural disasters.”

Damage at the Miller’s house on Bowen Street, The Range, after Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015. Picture: Contributed

She said Rockhampton was chosen as the location for Resilience Road as it experiences storms, floods and bushfires.

“Work on the homes started in February and was completed within one week,” she said.

“Each house required different modifications depending on what it needed to become safer and stronger.

“All upgrades were done by a building company but some of these are simple enough, they can be done by a home handyman.

Damage at the Miller’s house on Bowen Street, The Range, after Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015. Picture: Contributed

“The response from the Resilience Road residents has been really positive, with some of them stating they will now feel much safer next time Rockhampton experiences extreme weather.”

She said Bowen Street was selected after identifying customers who were happy to go on camera, have modifications done to their home and also did not necessarily think they were in danger from extreme weather.

“We wanted to select typical suburban homes on a typical suburban street,” she said.

“Most people don’t realise their vulnerability to natural hazard disasters.”