Ready, set, rain! Urban flood resilience in Ontario

Urban flooding is not an easy problem to solve. Most people never consider the risk of flooding until it happens to them, and then they want solutions enacted immediately. But fixing the mistakes of the past can be long, involved, and expensive. It requires proactive investment, before disasters occur.

In the last several years, several cities in Ontario, Canada, have experienced major flood events, causing damage totalling billions of dollars. This plan outlines four concrete actions that cities can implement to increase resilience: 

• Prioritize
• Prepare
• Protect and restore
• Improve

The plan also covers a series of proposed projects to reduce risk, and concludes that the province must improve public understanding, focus on thriving communities, benefit from partnerships and institutionalize resilience.