ORC’s Manager Natural Hazards, Dr Jean-Luc Payan, says the new study improves understanding of where flooding may occur for a range of flood scenarios and helps answer community questions about flooding in the area.

A community drop-in session will be held later this month in Ōamaru (full details below).

In a statement, Waitaki District Council says its staff were working alongside ORC’s Natural Hazards team to talk with the Oamaru community about updated flood study for Muddy Creek, a small alluvial fan waterway at the town’s north end.

By joining forces it provides a valuable opportunity for the community to hear from ORC’s Natural Hazards team about the science behind forecasting impacts of weather events on residents and businesses, as well as WDC’s Planning staff. There will also be information available on general emergency preparedness.
Being ready for any kind of weather event, big or small, and ensuring all households and businesses have all the information they need for general emergency preparedness is really key to communities staying resilient, both now and in the future.

Collaborating together, both Councils can connect the community to subject matter experts across all aspects of natural hazard assessment, District Plan development and emergency preparedness, WDC says.
ORC’s Dr Payan says the new flood information provides improved information for future planning and development decisions and supports community resilience. However, it is not intended or suitable to assess flood hazard for individual properties.

How will the new information be used?

• improve understanding of Muddy Creek flooding in the Ōamaru North area.
• support future preparedness, planning and community resilience.
• identify areas where further detailed study may be needed to support planning or development. 
• inform future planning to implement the National Policy Statement for Natural Hazards 2025.

The study looked at the impacts of flooding for various scenarios: 

•    ‘10-year flood’ (10% chance of occurring in any given year) 
•    ‘50-year flood’ (2% chance of occurring in any given year) 
•    ‘100-year flood’, (1% chance of occurring in any given year).
•    The effects of climate change on the flood hazard characteristics. 

Community drop-in session; what, where, when . . .  

Otago Regional Council and Waitaki District Council will hold a community drop-in session to share information about the flood study, and answer community questions.

Community members are welcome to attend at any time during the session and stay for as long as they like.

At the session, community members will be able to: 

• Learn more about flooding in the Ōamaru North area, and what the new flood information means for the area. 
• Chat (one-on-one or in group) with staff from ORC and Waitaki District Council
• Ask questions about the study and updated flood information.  
• Hear about next steps and future planning processes. 
• Collect information on general emergency preparedness.