Coastal communities in Victoria under threat from sea level rises

More than a million Victorians living along the coast could face widespread flooding due to rising sea levels by the end of the century, a government assessment reveals.

The Port Phillip Bay Coastal Hazard Assessment, commissioned by the state government, has highlighted areas along the coast expected to be threatened by flooding and other environmental degradation factors caused by climate change-induced sea level rises.

As Victoria’s largest bay, Port Phillip is home to more than 1.3 million people, thousands of plants and animals and plays a critical role in the state’s tourism and economy sectors.

Climate change will lead to more coastal hazard events more often and in larger sizes by 2100, the report released on Thursday stated.

It found some lower-lying land around the bay is prone to coastal flooding from sea level rises and storm surges, with larger areas expected to be affected.

Point Lonsdale, Queenscliff, Swan Bay, Portarlington, Point Henry, Avalon and Point Wilson in the west and southwest and Werribee and Altona in the northwest are especially prone to flooding from rising tides and storms.

In the north of the coast, Southbank and Port Melbourne to Elwood also face the same fate, as well as Mordialloc, Patterson Lakes and Martha Cove in the east and southeast.

About five square kilometres of the Melbourne council area could face inundation during once-in-a-century events under the situation of a 1.1m sea level rise.

For those in the Port Phillip council area, which encompasses St Kilda, Albert Park and South Melbourne, a one-in-100 chance event could see a quarter of the area face inundation if sea levels rise by 1.1m.

But Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos believes there is no cause for alarm, saying the significant research is a resource guide for land managers including councils, committees or government departments to determine what actions to take.

“This is a report for the next 80 years not a report for the next five minutes, so I wouldn’t be asking any community to be up in arms or concerned other than just ... work with land managers and us to take mitigation efforts,” Mr Dimopoulos told reporters on Thursday.

The government will consider the report before announcing more mitigation steps.