Council has detailed flood information and certificates available for the urban area.
To locate your property and find out if a flood report is available use our mapping tool.
What’s in the Property Flood Information
The tool will allow you see the design flood event levels and how they relate to the property. This tool will also allow you to generate a flood certificate containing all relevant flood information for the property.
Note: The certificates are automatically generated and have not been quality controlled, some of the information may not be correct.
You may wish to seek professional advice before acting on any information contained in one of these certificates.
Access mapping tool
See how to use the mapping tool with our Mapping Tools Fact Sheet(PDF, 1MB).
Flood Event Scenarios
For details on the different flood event scenarios modelled for Lismore refer to the Lismore Floodplain Risk Management Study(PDF, 98MB).
What is a Design Flood Event
A benchmark major flood that forms the basis of design standards for many planning, building and development related criteria (for example, minimum habitable floor levels).
The Design Flood Event is based on a 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) which has a 1% chance of occurring in any single year. This means that if you experienced a 1% AEP flood last year, the chance of experiencing a similar flood this year is still 1%. Previously this flood event was referred to as a ‘1 in 100 Year’ flood.
What is a climate change flood event?
The projected 2090 Design Flood Event considering the “worst case” climate change scenario where rainfall is expected to increase by 19.7%.
What is a Probable Maximum Flood Event?
The PMF is the largest flood that could conceivably occur at a particular location, usually estimated from probable maximum rainfall.
The Lismore Floodplain Risk Management Plan is a comprehensive strategy developed to address the risks associated with flooding in the Lismore local government area.
The plan aims to reduce the impact of flooding on the community, the economy, and the environment through a range of measures, including flood mitigation works, land use planning, emergency management, and community engagement.
The Lismore Floodplain Risk Management Plan aims to minimise the exposure to flood hazard in Lismore’s developed areas and ensure that new development is compatible with the flood hazard and does not create additional flooding problems. Controls that apply to new development in the flood-prone urban areas of Lismore are in Chapter 8 of the Lismore Development Control Plan.
Lismore Floodplain Risk Management Plan(PDF, 2MB)
Lismore Floodplain Risk Management Plan Appendices(PDF, 893KB)
Lismore Floodplain Risk Management Plan 2023 – interim report(PDF, 36MB)
In 2013, Council received LiDAR data from the NSW Department of Land and Property Information (LPI) and commissioned Advisian (formerly WorleyParsons) to update a previous flood model using the new data.
The updated model includes increased detail in the terrain, updated ground elevations, an analysis of the impact of riverbank lowering near Bunnings on flood behaviour, a representation of constructed development and floodplain changes, updated floodplain categorization polygons, and incorporation of approved development as if it were constructed.
Final Report – Lismore Flood Model LiDAR Update(PDF, 5MB)
The Richmond River Flood Mapping Study was conducted in 2008 and was funded by Richmond River County Council, Richmond Valley Council and the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) as the first step in the floodplain risk management process mandated by the New South Wales government's Flood Prone Land Policy.
The study is one of three studies aimed at understanding and managing flooding in the Richmond Valley area between Casino, Lismore, and Broadwater. The study area includes the Richmond River between Casino and Broadwater (excluding Casino), Bungawalbin Creek, Wilsons River from Lismore to Coraki (excluding Lismore), and the lower reaches of other major tributaries of the Richmond River such as Shannon Brook (Deep Creek) and Sandy Creek.
The study resulted in a calibrated hydrologic model of the entire Richmond River catchment, a calibrated 1D/2D hydraulic model of the floodplain between Casino, Lismore and Broadwater, and flood mapping of historical and design flood events, including flood levels and hazards.
Richmond River Flood Mapping Study Volume 1(PDF, 2MB)
Richmond River Flood Mapping Study Volume 2(PDF, 22MB)