The basics of flood risk

Flood risk is based on a combination of hazard, exposure and vulnerability.

• Hazard means natural factors that are out of our control. This includes heavy rainfall, storm surge and rising water levels.
• Exposure means what parts of our communities, like people, structures, infrastructure and ecosystems are in the hazard area.
• Vulnerability means the specific characteristics of an area that make it more sensitive to flood damage.

We can better understand the hazard by studying how often floods have occurred in the past and how these conditions will change in the future. We can estimate when and where floods could occur and what conditions will look like.

We have no control over the hazard as we cannot change the weather. Instead, we can manage our exposure and our vulnerability.

We can reduce exposure by keeping structures and people away from flood hazards. This includes building further away from the coast and floodplains. The flood modelling shown on this website can be used to understand high level exposure to flooding across the municipality. 

We can reduce our vulnerability by prioritizing protection of critical infrastructure and services and community members who will be most impacted from a flood, like a retirement home or hospital. We can increase the amount of green space to absorb and store flood waters. We can prepare and proactively anticipate floods to keep people safe. We can upgrade our drainage system to accommodate more intense rainfall. For more information on reducing vulnerability, see What can be done and Get flood ready.

For more information on flood risk, visit FloodSmart Canada.