RockhamptonHailstorm 2020.

The event

On 19 April 2020 Rockhampton and the surrounding region were rocked by the worst hailstorm the area had seen in over a decade. The Bureau of Meteorology reported hail up to eight centimetres in diameter hitting Rockhampton and Yeppoon, with wind gusts of more than 100 kilometres per hour.

No one was seriously injured, but a massive recovery operation followed, including an insurance repair bill estimated at more than $850 million. Our team at Watermark Constructions was mobilised to meet the needs of the townspeople: embracing those affected, assessing damages, and rebuilding over 1,400 homes and businesses across the Rockhampton and Yeppoon region.

Resourcing a region

At the beginning of the recovery all available Watermark crews were mobilised and set up to commence works. Due to the sheer volume of homes and businesses requiring new roofs and additional works, we drew on a broad suite of qualified subcontractors from Rockhampton, Gladstone, Biloela, Mackay and surrounding areas, people we've worked with for many years.

Employing local contractors is a strategy we deploy in every catastrophe event we take part in. It grows our capability and regional footprint, and keeps work flowing to local tradespeople, supporting regional development. The vetting and rigour around quality practices and workmanship is always high; we work alongside all our subcontractors and were proud to have them represent us.

Then the workload doubled

In September of the same year another catastrophic hailstorm tore a path through Springfield Lakes in the Brisbane area, and our workload more than doubled. Mobilising, upskilling, mentoring, vetting and supervising crews and property rebuilds across two major Queensland regions was a challenge we didn't foresee, yet one we rose to meet.

Built on a strong foundation of project management expertise and quality controls, and the ability to draw on such a broad and established workforce, we grew to the levels needed to resource both regions and maintain scheduling.

Beyond like for like

We worked through each project methodically, not only replacing awnings, carports, solar panels and roofs but in many instances completing major structural upgrades. The age of properties across Rockhampton and Yeppoon meant strengthening structural timbers and upgrading roofing materials to bring homes up to current building standards for a cyclonic region.

One such property belonged to Carly and Geoff of Park Avenue, Rockhampton, who had not long bought their first home ahead of the hailstorm. We completed major repairs, replacing their roof with significant upgrades, and carefully stripped and replaced water damaged asbestos ceilings and walls with modern plasterboard.

As we drew toward completion, Carly remarked: "We feel like you built us a brand new home! When this all began we were terrified of the process as nothing like this had ever happened to us before. You took or returned our every call, you came into our home and made us feel like we matter, that it was ok to ask questions, ok to have no idea about construction and ok to share how hard and emotional some days were."

And that is part of what makes disaster recovery work, as an insurance repair builder, both incredibly challenging and incredibly rewarding.