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Are There Different Types of Floods?
There are two types of floods, flash floods and river floods. Flash floods, also called "pluvial floods," occur when there's excessive rainfall, which increases surface water and causes flooding independent of a river overflowing. A pluvial flood can happen in an area that is not anywhere near a body of water. River floods also called "fluvial floods," occur when water in a lake, stream, or river overflows its banks and shorelines.
What Else Is Causing Increased Flooding?
Feltmate cites other causes of increased flooding, including the loss of natural infrastructure, aging municipalities, and housing infrastructure.
High Flood Risks and Home Purchasing
Why, despite this knowledge, do people continue to build and purchase homes in flood zones? First Street Foundation, a non-profit research group based in New York, estimated that almost 15 million properties are located in the hundred-year flood zone.
Homeowners will purchase flood insurance to live in areas that are at risk for flooding. Often, it's under the misguided idea that if there hasn't been a flood for a long time, it won't happen any time soon. "People have to understand that because of climate change, the weather of the past is not a predictor of the weather of the future," Feltmate says.
In Canada, there are approx. 500,000 to 800,000 high flood risk homes, often on the edge of flowing water systems, Feltmate says. "Although some of those properties might be protected through the deployment of community-level flood mitigation, the cost to protect many would be over anything considered reasonable. Offering those people a one-time payment to move out and relocate — well, most people are not anxious to do that. And, almost always, the amount of money offered is less than homeowners think their property is worth. If they don't take the compensation, they're generally on their own from now on."
Sometimes, local leaders don't want to declare land off-limits for new builds because they don't want to lose tax revenue. Developers don't want to learn late because land previously purchased is now considered a flood zone.
While the Intact Centre is educating homeowners, it also has a training program for professional accreditation on climate change and home flood protection. Real estate agents, brokers, mortgage lenders, insurance brokers, and home inspectors are taking the five-part course. Feltmate believes individuals can make a difference and don't always have to wait for government intervention.
No matter how you slice the equation, not having flooded basements is good for everyone – homeowners, insurers, municipalities, and at the state and federal level. Everybody wins. The issue is not that we don't know what to do; it's that we're not doing it aggressively enough.
Stacey Freed
I’m constantly on the hunt for a way to hike and write simultaneously.