Fears over rising sea levels have prompted planning authorities in southern Australia to reject a coastal¹ development.

对于海平面上涨的恐惧促使澳大利亚南方规划部门否决了一项沿海发展计划。

About 80% of Australians live in coastal areas

It is a decision that could affect other parts of the country.

Officials say the residential² scheme at Port Fairy in Victoria will not go ahead because of safety concerns.

There is growing fear in Australian coastal areas about storm surges（风暴潮） and possible inundation³（洪水，泛滥） from rising ocean levels.

Victoria's state government has rejected plans to build homes on sand dunes⁴（沙丘） at Port Fairy 300 km (186 miles) west of Melbourne because of threats posed by climate change.

Inundations?

The decision was based on a projection⁵ that sea levels will rise by 80cm (11.8 inches) over the next century.

Officials have insisted the area is also at risk from erosion（侵蚀，腐蚀） and storm surges.

State authorities have set up a multi-million dollar fund to help coastal regions adapt to the challenges that could lie ahead in the future.

The mayor of Port Fairy, James Purcell, says allowing houses and apartments to be built on such a vulnerable strip of land would be irresponsible.

"It could certainly be an issue where you could consider that there may be some loss of life or certainly a difficulty in saving people. So that would be the main concern from a safety point of view," he said.

"Because this piece of land has two issues. One is that it backs onto an area which is the Moyne River, which could be subject to flooding, and also on the other side of it is actually the ocean which could be subject to inundation."

Councillor Purcell believes the decision to reject the coastal development is likely to shape the way applications for other seaside projects are handled around Australia.

In another council area south-east of Melbourne, officials have put on hold all requests to build on land that could be threatened by rising sea levels.

Further north on Queensland's Gold Coast, a company constructing a new apartment block on low-lying ground was ordered to install emergency moorings（系泊设备） for rescue boats on the building's first floor because of concerns over the possible impact of climate change.