If you think your market is not susceptible to flooding, you are mistaken. The new reality is that the storms of the future will bring more rain, faster, more often. Your clients are at risk.
Flood is affecting markets across the country and south of the border. Flood risk is the new knob and tube. Do you think it is within your duty of care to know the flood risk in your market?
Regional susceptibility to flooding is increasing across the continent. Flooding has multiple sources.
Some floods are caused by river rise, which can be induced by increased rain, snow melt or glacial runoff or a combination of these features (as we’ve seen in Calgary, Winnipeg, Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec). Flooding impacts can be amplified when significant precipitation is accompanied by the failure of a piece of infrastructure, such as a dam, levee or dike (nationally).
Coastal estuary flooding can bring sea-level rise and storm surge together with increased upstream water volumes, creating amplified impacts and shortened time for response (Pacific coastal communities).
Urban flooding offers a significant potential for property loss as there is a high concentration of valuable land improvements. Reduced permeability in urban areas can result in the urban infrastructure, such as storm sewers, becoming overwhelmed by water, resulting in intense flooding, sewer backup and property damage (Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal and every urban centre in Canada)
This infographic from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo offers some practical tips for homeowners to protect property from flood risk. This information can be shared easily with your clients. It could make the difference between massive unrecoverable losses and minimal flood impacts.
Flooding is one of many trending property value impacts resulting from increasing precipitation, drought and wind. The new normal isn’t normal at all, it’s catastrophic, and will translate to massive losses to Canadian property values across the country for decades to come. This is a direct threat to the health of the real estate industry, to the real wealth of your clients and to your business.
Chris Chopik is a housing strategist and Director, Resilient Homes Canada at the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR.org). He’s an influential housing industry innovator and a respected authority working at the intersection of housing, energy, resiliency and natural hazards. Chopik’s work includes an extensive exploration of the future of “Property Value in an Era of Climate Change” (2019) where he examines the financial impact of natural hazards on property values across North America. He holds a Masters of Design, Strategic Foresight and Innovation from OCAD University.
