Flood Risk in Kempsey, NSW: 2026 Assessment

Kempsey, located in New South Wales, has a notable flood risk profile based on available data including proximity to waterways, elevation, and historical flood events. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) maintains river height and flood warning data for catchments across New South Wales.

Kempsey has a long history of flooding, with major events occurring in 1949, 1950, 1963, 2011 and 2013. The council maintains flood maps and provides information to residents on how to prepare for floods.

Kempsey is located on the Macleay River floodplain and has a history of significant flooding. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events, exacerbating flood risk.

For a comprehensive property-specific flood assessment including address-level elevation data, flood overlay mapping, and insurance cost estimates, use the ClimateNest full analysis tool. General suburb data cannot replace a site-specific evaluation.

Kempsey sits within ClimateNest's suburb-level hazard model for flood risk. 8.2% of the suburb's land area is mapped in high-risk flood zones and 72.4% in moderate-risk zones, based on the national hazard overlay. Exposure at this scale varies street by street, which is why an address-level check matters before you buy or insure a specific property in Kempsey.

Kempsey (postcode 2440) is tracked in ClimateNest's suburb hazard model, which maps the share of the suburb's land exposed to each hazard at high and moderate levels. The suburb's highest high-risk exposures are surface flood (9.4% of land in high-risk zones), bushfire (8.7% of land in high-risk zones), riverine flood (8.2% of land in high-risk zones). Exposure is not uniform across Kempsey — individual properties can sit well above or below these averages, so an address-level check is recommended before buying, selling or insuring.