Weathering the storm: Developing a Canadian standard for flood-resilient existing communities

This report outlines approaches that can be deployed by municipalities, utilities and local agencies (e.g., watershed managers such as conservation authorities in Ontario) to reduce flood risk for existing residential communities in Canada.

Climate change and extreme weather events are on the rise in Canada, bringing ever-increasing costs to governments, businesses, and ultimately all Canadians. In the past decade, flooding has emerged as the most pervasive and costly natural disaster in the country,  causing financial and mental distress to Canadians  across many regions. To limit the impacts of flooding, all levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous governments) are making new infrastructure investments and implementing flood risk reduction strategies.