A review of the impact of cyclone Tracy on building regulations and insurance

Abstract

Cyclone Tracy destroyed between fifty and sixty per cent of the houses and flats housing approximately 48 000 people living in Darwin in December 1974, as well as causing significant damage to most of the remainder as well as many of the commercial and industrial buildings. Although a significant percentage of these were government owned and uninsured, the insurance loss was several times larger than that from any previous catastrophic event in Australia, causing major problems for Australian insurance companies. The response in terms of changes in building practice and the approach to catastrophe insurance has had a lasting impact on both the building and insurance industries. This paper reviews the initial impact of the damage and the subsequent changes in practice in these industries arising from the experience of cyclone Tracy, including the process by which these changes occurred. This impact has greatly increased the resistance of Australia's built environment to extreme wind events and the resilience of the Australian insurance industry to major catastrophic events from which Australia continues to benefit.