Australian cyclone specialist, Professor Jonathan Nott, has now headed out into the field to gather data on Cyclone Debbie.

The Professor of Geoscience at James Cook University is also a member of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards.

He says he's frustrated that despite the damage caused by natural disasters like this, Australian policy makers are not making decisions about where to build homes based on the available data about the risks.