Hazards

Floods are New Zealand’s most frequent and costly natural disaster. Fast and accurate forecasting of flood impacts is crucial for reducing the risk to life, property, and infrastructure.

Developing a snowmelt forecast system to enable more accurate and confident forecasts of river flow and alpine hazards.

Transforming coastal lowland systems threatened by sea-level rise into prosperous communities

This project aims to establish connections between weather and river flow forecasting, inundation prediction and risks to people and assets.

On this page, you can find information about tide forecasts, sea-level network, tidal model of New Zealand's EEZ, and red-alert days for coastal flooding.

NIWA and Surf Life Saving New Zealand are working together to develop a state-of-the-art, rip current identification tool.

University of Canterbury’s Professor Matthew Wilson, one of the Mā te haumaru ō te wai research team, gives us some insight on uncertainty.

The three-year PARTneR–2 project aims to help countries in the Pacific become more resilient to the impacts of climate-related hazards.

NIWA is developing a national river flow forecasting tool for New Zealand that aims to support and strengthen our planning for and response to extreme rainfall events.

Marsden-funded research investigating how erupting volcanoes can cause deadly and damaging tsunamis.

NIWA is using serious games to look at problems holistically and provide a framework for climate change adaptation decision-making.

The alp-fed braided rivers of Canterbury are treasured for their landscape, recreational amenities, salmon- and trout-fishing, and unique riverine environments – which provide habitat to a host of endangered birds – but they are under threat from land-use intensification and a growing demand for irrigation water.