Tasman district residents are being urged to stay calm if they receive a letter indicating their property may be at risk from sea level rise and storm tides.

"I'd say don't panic but come and find out," mayor Richard Kempthorne said.

"I'd really strongly encourage them to get involved ... find out all the information they can about potential impacts where they live."

About 5500 letters from Tasman District Council are expected to arrive this week in the mailboxes of people whose properties have been identified as potentially at risk. Those properties are within or partially within areas affected by a range of sea level rise scenarios on new council coastal hazard maps, scheduled to be available on the council website from Monday.

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