Iama (Yam) Island is a vegetated granite island with steep hills. The town is built close to the airstrip on flat land, The island is also very susceptible to the predicted sea level rises from the greenhouse effect.

The Iama Regional Plan Community Booklet 2012 lists:

• the needs the community expressed in 2008 during consultations for the development of the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Regional Plan 2009-2029, and their status in 2012 (colour coded red,orange or green), thus showing progress in filling gaps in service delivery
• the services delivered or available and accessible to the community and individuals across the Region
• contact details for government departments, agencies and programs.