Achi news desk-
The Quebec government estimates that the number of homes located in flood zones could triple in the province when new flood maps are released.
The province’s environment minister discussed the data today when he announced a public consultation on a proposal to modernize flood management rules.
Under the new framework, the number of residences located in flood zones will jump from 22,000 to 77,000, home to about two percent of the county’s population.
The maps will also change the way flood risk is identified, from a system based on probability linked to years to a system that defines the risk as low, medium, high and very high.
Nothing in the rules will force a person living near the water to move, but the different levels of risk involve new laws and restrictions around building and renovating homes.
The county says the new rules are necessary due to climate change, and they were put in place after major floods in 2017 and 2019 caused more than $1 billion in total damage.
“These new maps, based on the latest scientific knowledge, will take into account both the frequency of floods, their intensity according to the depth of the water they reach, the presence of an ice cap, as well as the effects of climate change,” the journal said. Documents published by the Department of Environmental Quality.
The proposed rules include restricting homeowners in high-risk areas from building new homes or rebuilding destroyed homes. They will still be able to renovate the house, or modify it to make it more flood resistant.
Generally, new construction will not be allowed in high risk areas, with a few exceptions.
Several mayors and groups representing municipalities expressed concern about the announcement on Tuesday, noting that the public consultations are taking place before the maps are published.
“During the consultation, the first thing citizens will ask us is ‘Am I in this area?’ And unfortunately, we don’t have a concrete answer to give them,” said Francois Robillard, mayor of Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal.
He said he fears that citizens who were flooded in 2019 will suddenly find themselves in an area that will affect their ability to rebuild.
The mayor of Pointe-Calumet, a town in Los Angeles, said she believes nearly all of her municipality will be considered a flood zone when the new maps are released, when almost none were before.
“We wake up one morning like this, with the value of our homes going down, mortgage uncertainty, insurance uncertainty,” Sonia Fontaine said, adding that the public consultation period is “another 90 days of uncertainty.”
Environment Minister Benoit Chart said on Tuesday that not all of the new maps are ready, but that 80% of the urban communities are expected to finish them by spring 2025.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 11, 2024.
