Canada: What are flood maps? Your property value depends on them and they may be dangerously outdated
By Carl Meyer
Canada needs to up its game when it comes to flood maps, says a national group of professional appraisers, as the climate crisis distorts property values across the country.
[…]
The institute is warning that flood maps in Canada have become outdated, as climate change is leading to more annual precipitation, more rainfall in winter, more urban flooding and more coastal flooding. Communities in several parts of the country have been hit with abnormally intense floods in recent years, which has led to thousands of residents struggling to contain property damage.
[…]
If flood maps aren’t current, that has significant consequences. Appraisal Institute of Canada CEO Keith Lancastle told National Observer that this goes not just for existing homes and buildings, but also proposed new developments; anything that would "compromise" the stability of the Canadian financial system.
[…]
Lancastle called on the federal government to “make an immediate investment" to improve the quality and availability of terrain data, which provides the basis for flood maps, in its upcoming 2020 budget.
[…]