Coastal Hazards Mapping

Council has prepared coastal hazard mapping for areas affected by storm tide inundation, sea level rise and coastal erosion.  These are mapped for years 2040, 2070 and 2100.
This mapping is used to provide information for council on areas that require further attention for land use planning, development assessment and infrastructure planning and design. The mapping should not be relied upon when considering issues relating to real estate and persons should make their own detailed enquiries relating to their specific property.

The map layers can be viewed here - Coastal Hazard Maps. Further information about these layers are provided below. 

Coastal Inundation - Storm tide and sea level rise

Large parts of Noosa’s coastal areas are affected by storm tide inundation (storm surge) and this is likely to increase overtime with sea level rise. Some coastal areas are also likely to be inundated during very high tides due to sea level rise.
Two mapping layers have been prepared to show how far the inundation areas potentially extend, including:
  • Periodic or permanent tidal inundation of land due to sea level rise -  based on highest astronomical tide plus sea level rise for the year 2040, 2070 and 2100
  • Storm tide Inundation – based on a modelled storm event, (a ‘major’ storm event with a 1% probability of occurring in any given year, otherwise referred to as a 1-in-100 year event), plus sea level rise for the year 2040, 2070 and 2100.
These maps are representations of tidal and storm tide inundation potential for the modelled flood event. They do not depict complete inundation potential, such as during a more extreme storm event or a coincident flood event (i.e. storm tide inundation and catchment flooding peaking at the exact same time).
 
More severe, but less frequent storm tide inundation events may inundate land beyond the areas shown. With regard to periodic or permanent inundation from sea level rise, more frequent but reduced extent tidal inundation scenarios (i.e. average month-to-month conditions) have not been modelled.

Coastal Erosion

Erosion of coastal areas during storm events are a significant threat to Noosa Shire's beaches and coastal communities.

The coastal hazard mapping shows areas at risk of erosion for a modelled storm event (a ‘major’ storm with a 1% probability of occurring in any given year, otherwise referred to as a 1-in-100 year event), plus sea level rise for years 2040, 2070 and 2100.

These maps are representations of erosion prone area modelling held by Council. They do not depict complete erosion potential, such as for a more severe storm event or for storm events in close succession. More severe, but less frequent storm events may lead to erosion impacts on land beyond the erosion prone areas. This information may be updated over time and subject to change in accordance with Council’s Climate Change Response Policy 2017, or as other needs require.

Further information

For more information on council’s climate change and coastal hazards planning go to the project page here.