Natural-hazard data

Hazard datasets are unusually dependent on scale, model version and purpose. Start with the hazard type and source hierarchy, not a generic hazards layer downloaded years ago.

Flooding

Regional and territorial councils are usually the first source for local flood hazard models, river flood extents and planning layers. National terrain/rainfall datasets provide context but do not replace a local hydraulic model.

Active faults and earthquakes

Earth Sciences New Zealand maintains national geological/seismic data inherited from GNS Science, including the New Zealand Active Faults Database and GeoNet earthquake information. High-resolution active-fault mapping now exists in selected regions in addition to broader national mapping.

Landslides

Use local/regional susceptibility/inventory mapping where available, plus geology, slope, LiDAR and rainfall context. A susceptibility class is not a prediction that a particular slope will fail at a particular time.

Tsunami and volcanoes

Civil defence/council evacuation zones are communication/response products; GeoNet/ESNZ provides underlying scientific monitoring and hazard information. Use the product appropriate to the mapping question.

Coastal inundation and sea-level rise

Check scenario, vertical datum, return period and model date. A 1 m elevation threshold over a DEM is not equivalent to a coastal inundation model.

See Disaster and hazard mapping for iwi for combined local mapping without turning MāoriGIS.nz into an emergency-management manual.

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026