About the project
Timeframe: 4 years, 6 months
Total levy funding: $3.11m
Aotearoa New Zealand’s buildings and communities are increasingly exposed to floods, extreme storms, and other natural hazards. Despite recent disasters, there’s still no clear, consistent guidance to help people, councils, and communities prepare for and recover from these events — making recovery efforts slow and costly.
Supported by $3.46 million Building Research Levy funding, RESCUE (Resilience via Evaluation, Science, Climate Understanding & Engineering), brings together experts from BRANZ, CRESA, Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, the Insurance Council of New Zealand, several major universities and other researchers.
Working closely with insurers, councils and the building industry, RESCUE will deliver:
- New evidence to help inform which building materials to use and where, and retrofit solutions for hazard-prone areas — including affordable retrofit options and insights into the impact of saltwater exposure and rising groundwater.
- User-friendly tools and resources to guide homeowners, communities, and councils through preparedness and recovery.
- Training and guidance for the sector to ensure building work aligns with insurance claims advice and embeds resilience into everyday practice.
- Better coordination between community, building industry, insurers, councils, emergency services and homeowners to ensure building solutions are relevant and widely adopted.
By bridging research and real-world needs, RESCUE will help reduce stress and financial burden for homeowners and communities, support faster and safer recovery, and build a more resilient future for all New Zealanders.