Newcastle's most flood-prone suburbs

SIX entire suburbs of Newcastle are at risk of flooding and substantial parts of another 15 face the threat of going under in a major storm, a new report has found.Newcastle City Council commissioned BMT WBM to identify potential flood risk hot spots as it prepares to develop a citywide flood management plan.The Herald reported yesterday that a briefing to councillors on the consultant's findings warned about 22,000 (one in three) properties in the local government area were potentially flood-affected.The estimated cost to public and private sectors of mitigation measures was about $200 million.More details of the consultant's report were made available yesterday.The report said virtually all of six Newcastle suburbs and substantial parts of another 15 were high- and medium-priority flood risk areas.The flood risk areas include most of:

• Hamilton and Hamilton North
• Wickham and Maryville
• New Lambton
• Hexham

Areas where part of the suburb is at risk are:

• Merewether, Bar Beach, Cooks Hill and The Junction
• Adamstown
• Mayfield, Islington and Georgetown
• Jesmond, Birmingham Gardens and Wallsend
• Hamilton South
• Carrington
• Elermore Vale
• Kotara

High priority are those areas that experience acute flooding, where there is a high probability of structural damage or building collapse during a worst-case scenario.Medium priority are areas likely to experience significant flood risk during a worst-case event, requiring modifications to houses to withstand flood depths and forces.Eliminating flood risk in these areas would involve relocating about 1400 properties at a cost of about $1.5 billion.About $500 million would have to be spent strengthening buildings and creating on-site flood refuges at another 9000 properties.The report said the financial, social, environmental and planning implications made these options unfeasible.A more practical option was for governments and the community to invest about $200 million in enhancing channels and levees, strengthening buildings, development controls and flood warning systems.The council expects to complete a citywide flood management plan in 2011.