The extent to which low lying areas of Narooma and the district will be inundated is not yet known but planners are already taking sea level rise into account when approving new developments and building infrastructure.

While being careful to avoid panic, councillor Lindsay Brown who chairs the council's coastal planning body said it was vital all residents started thinking about the potential rising seas.

Council's draft sea level rise policy will be presented to councillors later this month and as part of the process a series of information sessions were scheduled last week across the shire.

About 30 people, including real estate agents, commercial property owners, caravan park managers, builders and an architect, listened as council's coastal and flood management planner Norm Lenahan explained the various threats to the shire's long 110km coastline.

The east coast experienced much bigger seas in the 1950s, 60s and 70s and this storm cycle was likely to repeat itself after a relatively quiet period.

Mr Lenahan said sea level rise couple with erosion from storms were the greatest threat.

"Erosion and inundation coupled with climate change are the major coastal hazards."

The planet's oceans were absorbing most the atmosphere's heat and were already rising prior to climate change.

The council was now using the State Government's guidelines of the 40cm and 90cm predicted increases and was in the process of reviewing all coastal land and identifying high threat areas were development would be restricted.

Options were to plan for sea level rise and avoiding development in high-risk areas, retreating and relocating housing and mitigating the impacts with sea walls and innovative design.

Questions at the meeting ranged from what litigation risk council carried by approving development in low-lying areas to some scepticism with one person noting that if real sea level rise did not start soon, then how could it possibly get to 40cm in less than 40 years.