FloodSmartCanada – Bringing Together Communities, Businesses and Governments to Tackle Flood Risk

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November 29, 2016

Presented by:

  • Shawna Peddle (Director, Partners for Action, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo)

Flooding is the most common and most expensive cause of property damage in Canada, with an estimated 1.7 million Canadian households at very high risk of flood damage. Our recent survey of Canadian homeowners revealed a lack of public understanding of flood risk and responsibilities for protection and recovery, but also highlighted public desire to understand risk and contribute to personal flood protection. To improve our odds towards reducing flood risk, we need better communication from governments and the insurance industry, as well as education on personal actions that will reduce dependence on federal and provincial disaster assistance programs. Partners for Action (P4A), an applied research network advancing flood resiliency in Canada, collaboratively engages a diverse set of stakeholders to create and share knowledge, address information needs, and drive action. We are working through our FloodSmartCanada project to inform Canadians about their risk, opportunities to reduce this risk, and methods of risk transfer, to inspire disaster resilience in the face of a changing climate and extreme weather. This presentation highlighted results from our public survey and how these results are guiding both website content (www.floodsmartcanada.ca) and community-level projects towards understanding and tackling flood risk.