Commission News & Views with Anne Tolley

We live in a world affected by natural hazards – earthquakes, floods, tsunami, landslides and volcanoes are all too common stories in our daily news feeds and unfortunately, our part of the world is subject to all of those hazards.

Our changing climate is also having an impact by influencing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, and therefore the likelihood of flooding and landslides. And of course, we also have sea level rise to worry about, with its effects on coastal erosion and inundation of low-lying properties.

In the face of so many potential adversities, we need to be prepared to respond as quickly and effectively as possible when natural hazard events do happen, or if possible, to make decisions that will protect people and property before they happen.

Councils across New Zealand therefore have an important responsibility to assess the natural hazard risks that apply to their communities. As part of that work, Tauranga City Council is continually reviewing and updating the information we hold about natural hazards to ensure we have the up-to-date data and analysis we need to plan for the future and keep people safe.

Over the next 12 months, we will be sharing more information about natural hazards in Tauranga and keeping you informed as updates come to hand that may affect your property.

The purpose of this is not to frighten anybody, but to provide realistic information so that we can work together to make informed decisions about our homes, businesses and communities; and make sure our infrastructure is resilient and can provide the best possible protection for all of us.

The new or updated information to be released by Tauranga City Council or Bay of Plenty Regional Council will include:

• Updated slope hazard data and a new landslide susceptibility report
• New Coastal inundation data
• Updating flood mapping data for some parts of the city
• Updated regional tsunami evacuation maps (led by Emergency Management Bay of Plenty).

If this information indicates that your home or property could be affected, you will receive a letter (or potentially more than one letter if you live in a location that could be affected by multiple natural hazards). These letters will describe the potential hazard(s) associated with your property and let you know about the opportunities available for property owners to meet with us and ask any questions they may have.

We don’t yet have all the answers, but having the latest information helps us all to make good decisions for the future.

For more information, go to our webpage: tauranga.govt.nz/naturalhazards

Where you will also find a link to an online mapping tool to check the natural hazards that could affect your property.