Fluctuating storm patterns caused by climate change have rendered previously safe waterfront properties and infrastructure susceptible to severe sea damage, according to a new study.

University of NSW researchers analysed data from the “superstorm” that battered eastern Australia in June last year, killing three people and causing almost $1 billion in damage.

While the storm was moderately intense, it hit from the “highly unusual” easterly direction, making it much more devastating.

“That’s what is really worrying,” report co-author Ian Turner says.

He says shifts in storm patterns and wave direction have major consequences because they distort and amplify the natural variability of coastal patterns.

“The damage we saw from a moderately intense storm last year is a harbinger of what’s to come,” he says.

Lead author Mitchell Harley says it is worrying news for people with waterfront property that was previously sheltered from large waves.

“Climate change is not only raising the oceans and threatening foreshores but making our coastlines much more vulnerable as the direction of incoming storms change,” he says.

“We need to be prepared. Not just for the fact that what we consider ‘king tides’ will be the norm within decades, but that the storms that strike the coast will come from unexpected directions, damaging coastal areas and infrastructure once thought safe from storm damage.”

Previous studies estimate sea level rise from climate change over the next century could put $226 billion of infrastructure at risk in Australia.

While hurricanes and cyclones seem to get the most attention, this study demonstrates how damaging east-coast low-pressure systems can be, Mr Harley says.