Natural hazard risks

Orange road cones are placed around a section of hillside that has collapsed.

Find out how we're designing a city that will cope with rising sea levels, extreme weather events and earthquakes.

How we manage the risks of natural hazards

The district plan’s rules and policies are an important way of managing the impacts of natural hazards on life, property, roads and other infrastructure. Lower Hutt is at risk from a range of natural hazards, including earthquakes, flooding, slope instability and coastal hazards. Climate change has an increasing impact, particularly on flood hazards and coastal inundation.

Areas at risk from natural hazards are mapped in natural hazard overlays. The draft District Plan maps allow you to search any address to see overlays for:

  • The Wellington Fault and the Wellington Fault Induced Subsidence Area
  • Flood hazard areas (including stream corridors and overland flowpaths)
  • Liquefaction areas
  • Tsunami areas
  • Coastal inundation areas

These areas are ranked as high, medium or low hazard areas, depending on the likelihood and potential consequences associated with the hazard.

Quick user guide to explore the natural hazard maps:  

  • Start entering an address into the search box and select from the dropdown list
  • At the top right of the screen click on the “layers” icon in the blue banner
  • Click the little arrow next to the “draft district plan” heading and tick the “hazards and risks” box that drops down. Make sure the “draft district plan” box is also ticked.
  • An overlay of the local hazard risks will appear on the map, click “legend” next to the “layers” icon at top of your screen to see what the different colours mean.

Click here to start exploring the maps

Wellington Water prepared the flooding maps in the draft plan. The Greater Wellington Regional Council also recently provided new flooding maps relating to Te Awa Kairangi Hutt River and Waiwhetū Stream, which are not included in the draft.  Hutt City Council, Wellington Water and the Greater Wellington Regional Council will work together to ensure an integrated and consistent approach to the flood hazard mapping for the Proposed District Plan when it is released in 2024.

Check  out  the  hazards  factsheet for how we're proposing to manage the risks or see the full draft District Plan.

Contact details

Email: dpreview@huttcity.govt.nz