COTA SA's Climate Change Group is passionate about the actions that individuals can take, big or small, that helps to care for the planet. One of these actions is sharing stories and finding reliable sources of information that are balanced and easy to understand. Our Climate Change Group members will share stories and information that they find useful with the hope that you will find it useful too! Today, what is the risk for your home of extreme weather events and how to deal with it.

We are experiencing an increased level of extreme weather events in Australia - with extensive flooding in New South Wales as the latest event.

Although South Australia does not generally have the same level of flood risk as the East Coast of Australia, parts of Adelaide have experienced flooding in the past and bushfires are an ongoing risk for rural and peri-urban areas.

Many South Australian households have reported a substantial increase in premiums for house insurance. A small number of households of COTA SA members have also reported that insurance on their home has been declined for some risks.

There are a number of tools available to help you assess the risk of your own home in extreme weather events - for example:

• the Bushfire Resilience Rating app from the Resilient Building Council is an excellent tool very suitable for those at risk from bushfires. It’s very detailed in asking for data about your home and immediate surrounds. The app produces a detailed list of recommended actions tailored to your house to reduce bushfire risk.
• Insurance companies are starting to release tools which integrate known property, weather and other data to produce property risk reports – also with recommended actions to reduce risk. Suncorp, for example, has just released a tool called Haven. It doesn’t yet cover all Australian addresses but is in the process of doing so. Very easy to use and produces a report tailored to your address.
• Governments are also releasing tools. Queensland Government, for example, has a Climate Change Risk Management Tool for Queensland Households. Very comprehensive checklists and can be adapted to a South Australian home – particularly with multiple risks.

No matter what approach you use, the key is to have an understanding of the risks and their probability for your home. Then to work out a plan of action which suits you: to fix maintenance and prevention issues or, even to move home, if the resultant risk for you is too high.

The COTA SA Climate Change Group has identified the risks of extreme weather on our homes as a significant issue for older people. There are tools to help you.

If you want to chat about this topic, please contact us via the COTA SA reception desk on 08 82320422.