A brand new report by the Authorities of British Columbia particulars its dedication to growing a provincially coordinated floodplain mapping program, and sheds mild on how and the place it intends to rebuild communities after a flood.
Extra particularly, the report, From Flood Danger to Resilience: A BC Flood Technique to 2035, breaks down the steps the federal government plans to take to: a) set up and coordinate a multi-year floodplain mapping program; b) construct again higher pre- and post-disaster; and c) transfer folks and buildings from flood-prone areas.
The report particulars 4 pathways the province will take to reinforce flood resilience within the short- and long-term, as follows:
- Understanding Flood Danger
- Strengthening Flood Danger Governance
- Enhancing Flood Preparedness, Response and Restoration
- Investing for Flood Resilience
Flood maps
In its efforts to know flood threat, the federal government introduced its intention to develop a floodplain mapping program.
This system will “develop modernized, provincial floodplain mapping steering for native governments, First Nations, and certified professionals on using floodplain maps to help flood preparedness, mitigation, and adaptation efforts,” the report reads.
As soon as launched, the maps shall be up to date inside 10-year intervals with precedence to areas experiencing quickly shifting flood hazards and shall be used for infrastructure planning within the province.
The province additionally plans to conduct a province-wide flood threat evaluation to ascertain its key flood dangers. Amongst these steps, B.C. will discover potential threats of storm surge flooding, which is rising in frequency and depth when mixed with sea degree rise.
“With over 200,000 B.C. households at excessive threat of flood injury – the third-highest threat in Canada – this technique is a vital step in higher defending households, companies and communities transferring ahead,” Aaron Sutherland, Insurance coverage Bureau of Canada’s pacific and western vice-president, says of the province’s plan.
Put up-event rebuilds
The B.C. authorities additionally detailed its plan for enhancing flood preparedness, response and restoration. A part of that features rebuilding communities with higher flood protections.
“To help and improve post-emergency flood restoration planning, the province will help communities in rebuilding in a resilient, culturally protected, and acceptable method post-disaster. This method goals to facilitate restoration from financial, social, and cultural disruption, amongst extra efforts,” the report reads.
Inside this context, the federal government intends to discover how greatest to enhance constructing tips to help flood resilience. There can also be incentives for householders, farmers, and companies in high-risk areas to flood-proof their buildings.
Of explicit curiosity for the P&C trade, which has lengthy debated the advantage of rebuilding in floodplains, the federal government additionally particulars its technique for community-led, managed retreat investments. Or, primarily, transferring folks from their flood-prone communities, the federal government says.
“Neighborhood-led managed retreat includes transferring folks, buildings and infrastructure from hazard-prone areas to cut back future dangers,” the report reads.
Transport vans hauling trailers journey on the Coquihalla Freeway after it was reopened to industrial site visitors as heavy gear is used to rebuild the southbound lanes that had been washed away by flooding final month at Othello, northeast of Hope, B.C., on Monday, December 20, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
