Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity with the impacts and costs of these disaster also increasing over the past decade. The Riverina Murray region is exposed to bushfires, floods, storms, heat and drought on a recurring basis with more than 15 disaster declarations issued across the region between 2020 and 2023.

The Commonwealth and NSW Governments have established disaster resilience and risk reduction initiatives to deliver projects that support Australians to manage the physical and social impacts of disasters caused by climate change and other natural hazards.

As part of these initiatives, In 2023-24, RAMJO was awarded approximately $650,000 as part of the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund to complete the project: ‘Building knowledge and improving practice in disaster risk reduction in the Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation footprint’.  In 2025/2026 RAMJO was awarded $633,604 as part of the Disaster Ready Fund – Round 2 for the project: ‘All-hazards, risk-based approach to strategic land use planning and critical infrastructure asset management for Riverina/Murray Region’.

The Disaster Ready Fund Round 2 Project enhanced RAMJO member councils’ capacity to respond, adapt and recover from disaster. The project comprised three components, including:

1. Critical Infrastructure Risk Assessments, Asset and Infrastructure Risk Management Plan Assessments and Mitigation Action Plans;
2. Land Use Planning Maturity Assessments, completion of the DPHI Natural Hazards Planning Considerations Checklist and Planning Priority Action Plans; and,
3. Synthesis and embedment workshops to incorporate findings from the project into council strategic documents.

The RAMJO Disaster Ready Fund Round 2 project was jointly funded by the Australian Government and the NSW Government.

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events that lead to natural disasters is increasing across Australia, in turn causing increasing disaster impacts and costs. The Riverina Murray region of New South Wales is not immune to these impacts. The region is exposed to bush fires, floods, severe storms, heat and drought on a recurring basis with council areas across the region subject to 15 disaster declarations between 2010 and 2025.

The Commonwealth and NSW Governments have established disaster resilience and risk reduction initiatives to deliver projects
that support Australians to manage the physical and social impacts of disasters caused by climate change and other natural hazards. The Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation (RAMJO) and its member councils, in partnership with the Commonwealth and NSW Governments, undertook a program of works as part of the Commonwealth Disaster Ready Fund Round 2.

As part of this work, RAMJO developed a Regional Disaster Risk Profile and supporting local government profiles for each member council. The profiles may be used by councils to support funding applications, use in conversations with government agencies about disaster resilience needs and funding opportunities, and as an input to the NSW Reconstruction Authority’s development of regional Disaster Adaptation Plans.

The regional profile shows that the region has experienced seven major flood events, five severe storm events, two bush fires
and one tornado between 2010 and 2025 that were subject to disaster declarations.

Record-setting floods have been experienced in the region in 1952, 1956, 1993, 2016 and 2022. Severe storms in recent years have led to extreme rainfall events that overwhelmed stormwater systems and inundated commercial and residential properties. Hailstorms and tornadoes have also caused significant damage to businesses and crops.

Bush fires and heat are also threats within the region. Grass fires are a threat because 40 to 97 percent of vegetation cover across RAMJO member council areas is grass or farmland. Major fires occur every 5-10 years, apart from the Balranald and Wentworth Shire Council areas where medium-scale mallee scrub fires occur regularly. All areas within the RAMJO region have experienced more hot days (above 35°C) over the past 30 years, with instances of consecutive hot days above 38°C also increasing. The RAMJO region has also seen the highest daily average maximum temperatures on record for the January to June period in 2025.

Climate change is influencing natural hazard impacts in the region. In the future, the Riverina Murray is expected to experience a warmer and drier climate with an increased frequency of hot days, longer duration hot periods, reduced rainfall – particularly in spring, heavy rainfall events, severe bushfire weather and time spent in drought. In the Far West, climate projections suggest there will be a significant increase in very hot days, an increased frequency of severe bushfire weather and time spent in drought. Far West climate change projections also suggest there will be reduced rainfall but increased rainfall variability spread across the year. 

This project comprised four components to improve corporate and community risk preparedness, including:

• Local and Regional Needs Analyses and Opportunities Reports
• 22 community workshops that helped communities prepare for, understand and take action to reduce multi-hazard disaster risks;
• A Transport Vulnerability Assessment that assessed the risks to the region’s transport networks and developed priorities for future investment, maps can be viewed via RAMJO Regional Freight Transport Plan & Disaster Risk Reduction Program; and,
• Workshops and tools to help councils embed project learnings into Councils’ Integrated Planning and Reporting documents.

The project also saw the development of a disaster resilience network across the Joint Organisations in NSW that continues to build capacity, share resources and more systematically collaborate with key State agencies.

The Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF) was jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.