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Appendix C: Coastline Hazards

Appendix C10 - Hazards, Processes and Coastline Types

• 1 INTRODUCTION
• 2 PROCESSES AND HAZARDS
• 3 HAZARDS AND COASTLINE TYPES
• APPENDIX C INDEX

1 INTRODUCTION

The previous Appendices C have examined the hazards associated with various coastal processes. Seven separate hazards can be identified:

• Beach Erosion
• Shoreline Recession
• Coastal Entrance Behaviour
• Sand Drift
• Coastal Inundation
• Slope and Cliff Instability
• Stormwater Erosion

The first four of these hazards relate to the "stability" or behaviour of sandy beaches, i.e. the position of the backbeach erosion escarpment and the onshore profile of a sandy beach.

By way of summary of coastline hazards, this appendix identifies the coastal processes giving rise to the various hazards and the broad relevance of the hazards to the three coastline types of New South Wales. This allows councils to rapidly obtain an indication of the potentially more important hazards of relevance to their stretch of coastline.

2 PROCESSES AND HAZARDS

Table C10.1 shows the principal processes that contribute to the different hazards. Because of their interrelated nature, various processes contribute to the same hazard. Note that the processes of Climate Change and Human Activity can contribute to all hazards.

3 HAZARDS AND COASTLINE TYPES

To identify and assess specific hazards of relevance to a particular length of coastline, a detailed coastal process and hazard definition study is recommended. However, some hazards are generally of more significance to certain coastline types than others. Table C10.2 shows the hazards of potential relevance to the three coastal types of NSW.

All coastline hazards are of potential relevance to Sandy Beaches. Slope and foundation problems and stormwater disposal are of particular concern to Coastal Bluffs, where slumping or foundation failure exacerbated by seepage can occur. The likelihood of inundation should also be checked for Coastal Bluffs. The stability of the rock face is the major potential hazard for Sea Cliffs.