Economic Exposure of Canadian Residential Properties to Flooding

Abstract

Flood risk management (FRM) involves planning proactively for flooding in high-risk areas to reduce its impacts on people and property. A key challenge for governments pursuing FRM is to pinpoint assets that are highly economically exposed and vulnerable to flood hazards in order to prioritize them in policy and planning. This paper presents a novel flood risk assessment, making use of a dataset that identifies the location, dwelling type, property characteristics, and potential economic losses of Canadian residential properties. The findings reveal that the average annual costs are $1.4B, but most of the risks are concentrated in high-risk areas. Data gaps are uncovered that justify replication through local validation studies. The results provide a novel evidence base for specific reforms in Canada's approach to FRM, with a focus on insurance that improves both implementation and effectiveness.