The government believes about 150 homes in Canberra are at high risk during a one-in-100-year flood event.
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On Tuesday, ACT Environment Minister Mick Gentleman launched a new flood map of the ACT which allows people to see where and how areas across the capital would be affected.
According to a government website, insurance companies will be able to use the map to revise premiums of affected areas.
State Emergency Service volunteers will begin doorknocking potentially affected homes after Christmas, teaching Canberrans how to be prepared for a flood.
"Have a think - what would you do if flooding came to that area?" Mr Gentleman said.
McKellar, Dickson, Lyneham and O'Connor in the north and Isabella Plains, Monash and Mawson in the south were the suburbs at highest risk of flooding in Canberra.
The environment directorate said there were 64 blocks in the Tuggeranong Creek Catchment area and 43 blocks in the Sullivan's Creek Catchment area that would potentially flood in a 100-year event.
The new map, available online at actmapi.act.gov.au, shows waters as high as potentially half a metre lapping at the back doors of homes and flooding streets, carparks and main roads.
One-in-100-year events are now referred to as "one per cent Annual Exceedance Probability", meaning there is a 1 per cent chance per year of having a flood to the extent displayed in the new map.
Canberra's last two 100-year floods were the deadly floods in Woden in 1971 and the more recent flooding of Sullivan's Creek which mainly affected Lyneham and O'Connor.
Mr Gentleman said climate change was likely to bring more 100-year flood events to Canberra.
"[The mapping] allows us to plan for future suburbs and future urban areas," he said.
Mr Gentleman signalled the government would have to upgrade infrastructure at the waterways at the lake end of Coranderrk Street and Haig Park to help water flow.
Future developers in Canberra would also need to look at the map to ensure their projects were ready for a100-year flood, Mr Gentleman said.
Earlier this year, an Auditor-General's report warned stormwater assets may not be able to handle major rain events unless they are upgraded.
The government said the map allowed them to revise the number of blocks they had originally assessed as being in the flood zone from 1000 to 150.
State Emergency Service chief officer Georgina Whelan said the map would help them better plan their response to 100-year events.
Ms Whelan said Canberrans should plan ahead and could clean out their gutters or stormwater drains.
"A couple of things would make an area more susceptible to flooding: proximity to rivers and streams, urban density, climate change but the most important thing is how we look after our own properties," she said.
