SYDNEY, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A rising risk of flooding due to climate change is driving a major decline in the value of Australian properties, according to a report published on Wednesday.
The report, compiled and released by the Climate Council - Australia's own independent climate organization - together with property data firm PropTrack, found that homes in flood-prone areas were worth a combined 42.2 billion Australian dollars (about 27.4 billion U.S. dollars) less as of April 2025 than they would have been without the risk of flooding.
The threat of flooding has increased in Australia as a result of climate change, the report said, with one in six homes in the country now at risk of flooding.
Properties in the northeastern state of Queensland, the most densely populated areas of which have a tropical climate, have been the most severely affected. The report said Queensland properties were worth a combined about 19 billion Australian dollars less as of April due to flood risk.
Nationally, the median value of a typical three-bedroom home at risk of flooding was 75,500 Australian dollars lower in April than a typical home without flood risks.
"Flood risk is also deepening economic inequality, with some of the largest drops in value concentrated in lower income areas, and we can expect this to get worse unless we make deep cuts to climate pollution this decade," Nicki Hutley, co-author of the report from the Climate Council, said in a media release.
Queensland and the neighboring east coast state of New South Wales (NSW) experienced severe flooding in the first half of 2025 that caused widespread damage to thousands of properties.
A landmark National Climate Risk Assessment report released by the federal government in September warned that Australia will face more frequent and severe extreme weather events, including floods. ■
