Tropical Cyclone Fina and some supercell storms over parts of eastern Australia, this year’s storm weather season has started with a thunderclap. What can we learn from these and previous events such as Tropical Cyclone Alfred so we can better mitigate, prepare and recover?
Attendees joined the December Hazardous Webinar from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm AEDT on 11 December 2025 to hear from researchers at the forefront of cyclones and storms, as well as those investigating the vulnerability of infrastructure assets and the impact of natural hazards on interconnected private and public infrastructure.
Panel:
- Dr David Henderson (Cyclone Testing Station, James Cook University and Natural Hazards Research Australia)
- A/Prof Geoff Boughton (Cyclone Testing Station, James Cook University and Natural Hazards Research Australia)
- A/Prof Matthew Mason (University of Queensland and Natural Hazards Research Australia)
- Dr Jane Sexton (Queensland Fire Department)
- Andrew Gissing (CEO, Natural Hazards Research Australia) – Host
In this webinar, CEO Andrew Gissing began by reflecting on a bumper year of impactful research building safer, more resilient and sustainable Australian communities.
A/Prof Geoff Boughton from the JCU Cyclone Testing Station reflected on how past disasters continue to shape today’s risks. The devastation caused by Cyclone Tracy in 1974 led to major advances in building codes and wind engineering. However, recent events show that vulnerabilities remain, particularly in regions not traditionally designed to withstand cyclone impacts.
A/Prof Matt Mason from UQ turned attention to the cascading impacts of severe storms on interconnected infrastructure systems.
From an operational perspective, Dr Jane Sexton from the Queensland Fire Department spoke to how research directly supports emergency response.
The panel discussion highlighted several cross-cutting implications:
- Buildings must remain functional, not just standing. Government, commercial and community facilities play a critical role in response and recovery, making maintenance as important as initial design.
- Infrastructure resilience requires clear expectations about service levels during and after events, particularly for power and communications.
- Community preparedness matters more than ever, with calls to extend household self-reliance planning from three to seven days.
- Affordable mitigation actions, such as yard maintenance and pruning, reduce risk immediately, while new builds provide the most cost-effective opportunity to embed resilience measures.
- Building standards need to keep pace with risk, with growing evidence supporting stronger wind design criteria and consideration of full internal pressure outside traditional cyclone regions.
Watch the webinar replay below.