Insurance and environmental experts believe that more needs to be done in order to counter the rising risk of flooding across Canada.
According to a study published in June by researchers at Environment and Climate Change Canada, climate change has made rainfall more severe in recent years, and has also made storms with extreme rainfall more frequent.
One of the methods provincial governments have used to address the rising risk of flooding is by offering to buy out properties from homeowners living in high flood risk areas.
“Taxpayers are starting to see what’s going on here and they simply aren’t willing to continue paying to rebuild in high-risk flood areas, so the solution is you try to give people the option of leaving or relocating to a safer area,” said Water Institute member Jason Thistlethwaite, associate professor, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development.
