There are many ways to systematically assess risks and hazards as explained by Gerrard (2000). Within coastal zone management this can be either a 'stand-alone' exercise or part of a coastal management plan.

Fundamentally any risk management strategy uses the four standard phases employed within all strategic planning exercises, namely scoping and investigation, analysis, implementation/mitigation and monitoring. In other words, the standard risk management strategy will:

• Identify what can go wrong and prioritise the most serious hazards;
• Consider how likely such events are to happen, how tolerable it will be if each does and how each might be avoided, reduced or controlled;
• Implement the most appropriate policy option;
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen risk mitigation.