As flooding and other climate-related events intensify, the Canadian government is strengthening its flood mitigation strategies.
On June 18, the federal government announced that it would be investing $6.8 million in 20 projects across the country aimed at protecting against flood damage. This investment is part of the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program (FHIMP), which the federal government has committed $164.2 million to between 2024 and 2028.
The federal government launched the FHIMP in 2021 with an initial three-year investment of $63.8 million. The program’s aim is to update Canada’s flood mapping capabilities, identifying high-risk areas and making flood mapping more accessible.
“Flooding is already the most costly natural disaster in Canada, and climate change is expected to make flooding more frequent and more severe in the future,” said Julie Dabrusin, the minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, in a statement. “By investing in cutting-edge flood mapping and bringing together experts from across sectors, we’re helping communities better understand their risks and build a safer, more resilient future for Canadians and their families.”
Flooding causes around $2 billion worth of damage in Canada annually with residential property owners bearing approximately 75 per cent of the uninsured losses.
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According to the federal government, advanced flood maps could help limit some of this damage. Flood maps are used to show areas covered by water or that could become covered during a flooding event.
These maps help both the federal and provincial governments with land-use planning, including where to build flood mitigation infrastructure, such as dikes. They’re also used in emergency planning when building evacuation routes, and give property owners more information about flood-related risks, such as where you should or shouldn’t build a cottage.
“We are collaborating closely with provinces, territories, and researchers to support flood hazard mapping that helps safeguard crucial infrastructure, minimize disruptions to local economies, and improve public safety,” said Tim Hodgson, the minister of Energy and Natural Resources Canada, in a statement.
Under the FHIMP, Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada are responsible for distributing the funds. Only provincial and territorial governments are eligible recipients. However, these governments can redistribute the funds to other eligible entities, including municipal governments, public sector bodies, private sector bodies, Indigenous communities, and international non-government organizations.
So far, the program has helped fund the creation of more than 1,000 flood maps and 330 flood-map-related projects.
Under the current round of funding, Environment and Climate Change Canada is investing $3.3 million in nine projects focused on advancing flood map science nationally. This will help researchers better understand areas at the highest risk of damaging floods.
Natural Resources Canada is investing $2.8 million in eight projects focused on improving regional flood hazard information, as well as $750,000 in three projects focused on the exchange between Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and other scientific practices related to flood hazard mapping.
Some notable projects that are part of this round of funding include Queen’s and Dalhousie universities studying the impact of climate change and hurricanes on the Atlantic coast; Polytechnique Montréal studying the intensity, duration, and frequency of precipitation under current and future climate conditions across Canada; and McGill University creating an AI-powered model that predicts water levels in Canadian watersheds under climate change.
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