FOCUS AREA:
FLOOD RISK PREPAREDNESS
To achieve P4A's core mandate of empowering Canadians to become flood resilient, our team has led innovative research and worked to catalyze dialogue with industry leaders, government agencies, local leadership, not-for-profits, practitioners, and experts–shaping the national conversation on whole-of-society flood risk management. This research has identified areas for improvement, including gaps and goals for more effective, collaborative flood risk management. Findings from stakeholder workshops and municipal case studies provide recommendations for effective flood risk management across Canada and to continue towards a shared goal of building more resilient communities.
Explore our applied research and stakeholder insights on the state of flood risk management and disaster preparedness in Canada through the following projects:
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At the Front Lines of Flood: How Prepared are Ontario Communities?
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Preparedness of Fifteen Canadian Cities to Limit Flood Damage
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RAIN Smart Framework for Municipalities
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Perspectives in Flood Risk Assessment and Management
Flood risk preparedness in Canada
At the Front Lines of Flood: How Prepared are Ontario Communities?
In 2016, we interviewed 18 Ontario municipalities, 2 First Nation communities, and 15 Conservation Authorities and asked them, “how prepared is their community for a flood?” The study revealed the major socio-economic toll of flooding on medium-sized Ontario communities and the need for financial, technical, and planning support to increase local adaptation capacity and community resiliency. Learn more here.
Preparedness of Fifteen Canadian Cities to Limit Flood Damage
This report documents the level of preparedness of fifteen major Canadian cities to limit potential flood damage relative to current (2015) and anticipated (2030) high-intensity and long-duration precipitation events. The report aims to motivate cities to increase efforts to limit flood risk resulting from extreme precipitation. Collectively, sixty city officials participated in the survey and shared their perspectives. The preparedness of each city was assessed on a scale of A (higher preparation) to E (lower preparation).
RAIN Smart Framework for Municipalities
To assist municipalities with progressive stormwater management projects, Partners for Action and Reep Green Solutions have developed the RAIN Smart Framework for Municipalities to provide ready-to-use templates and resources on how to engage the community on lot-level stormwater management. The framework provides proven methods to engage homeowners to manage precipitation on their properties to increase the resiliency of stormwater infrastructure on a neighbourhood or community scale. Learn more here.
Perspectives in Flood Risk Assessment and Management
Two interactive workshops, held in Toronto in conjunction with CatIQ’s Canadian Catastrophe Conference, brought together 110 participants for in-depth discussions on flood risk assessment, management, and mitigation in Canada. Participants were invited to shape perspectives toward recommendations for effective flood risk management across Canada and to continue towards a shared goal of building more resilient communities. Data and shared understanding, homeowner education and awareness, and proactive cross-sector collaboration were identified as three priority areas to move flood risk management forward in Canada. Learn more here.