National hazard mapping is needed to help people and territorial authorities avoid the worst damage from natural disasters and, in turn, unaffordable insurance premiums, New Zealand Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton says.
As another natural disaster hit the country this week, the council believed it was timely to raise the need for regional councils throughout the country to develop comprehensive hazard databases.
''When another storm hits it's a sobering reminder of what can happen. We need to get uniformity and consistent quality of information across the country.''
The Otago Regional Council's hazard database was a good example of providing information about hazards to the public, Mr Grafton said.
''It's right up there. It is a model for others to emulate.''
Mapping enabled a whole range of risks from flooding, earthquakes, landslips, tsunami and storm surge to be accessed by home owners, territorial authorities and insurance companies.
''It then enables people to to model and quantify the impact of those events.''
Then communities could make decisions on ways to avoid or mitigate those impacts, such as widening the Water of Leith which was a major flood hazard in the middle of Dunedin, he said.
It would also enable councils to make planning and consent decisions about where and how future development and infrastructure was built so it was resilient to not only natural disasters but also to the impacts of climate change.
Many places in New Zealand were already built in areas prone to flooding, such as Queenstown, and adaptive measures were needed in those places to prevent major damage.
''We do not want to end up like Queensland in Australia where places are so flood-prone premiums got to $20,000.''
To keep insurance premiums affordable, the country needed to be more mindful of hazards and think smarter by planning accordingly, Mr Grafton said.
''If insurance is not available, who'll pick up the pieces?''
Otago Regional Council natural hazard and engineering director Gavin Palmer said the council met the insurance council this week to show it the council's hazard database including all Otago hazards information the council had, even extending to photos and maps. It was available through the council's website and had proved popular, he said.
Other organisations in Otago also held hazard information and a '' one-stop shop'' would be ideal but raised issues about where it would be held and who would run it, Mr Palmer said.
''It is proof of the concept, now we start with the next step.''
The database was near capacity and could be more user-friendly but strategic decisions needed to be made, he said.
''There is a huge amount of value locked up in organisations.''
