The Illawarra's northern suburbs will be hit from all sides by climate change, according to an assessment that went before Wollongong City Council on Monday night.
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As a signatory to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, the council is required to prepare a Climate Change Adaptation Plan - which identifies the risks and how council can respond.
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An assessment carried out as part of the plan identified Ward 1 - the suburbs north of the city - at the highest risk from bushfire, sea level rise and coastal erosion.
"Ward 1 is expected to experience the majority of high to extreme risk from coastal erosion," the assessment found.
"This is due to the proximity of urban development to the coastline."
Sea level rise was predicted to cause "high to extreme" risk to homes by the end of the century.
"Sea level rise is likely to lead to the largest number of assets exposed to high or extreme risk across the Wollongong area, particularly on the open coastline of the northern suburbs," the assessment stated.
The northern suburbs are also at risk of bushfires - which will increase due to climate change - because many homes are close to the bush.
Key roads like Pioneer Road at Towradgi, Lawrence Hargrave Drive at Austinmer, Squires Way at Fairy Meadow are also at "high risk" of coastal erosion.
The South Coast rail line, which runs close to the coast, is also at risk of succumbing to sea level rise - with Bellambi, North Wollongong and Port Kembla at "extreme risk" with 13 at medium risk by 2050.
The plan listed a range of "priority actions" council could take, such as using its facilities as respite centres during heat waves, planting trees suitable for the future climate, ensuring new developments consider climate change projections and developing recovery plans for disasters like storms.
"Many of these actions are focused on continuing work already underway in managing the risks of hazards such as flooding, bushfire and coastal erosion," council papers stated.
At Monday night's meeting, councillors voted unanimously to put the draft plan on public exhibition.
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