Floods at a time of climate change

We remember that the floods of 2017 and 2019 were particularly catastrophic for many residents and some municipalities, such as Gatineau.

However, a study by the University of Laval showed that flood damage from ice bottlenecks could increase on average by 30% due to climate change. And when we talk about damage, we are talking about the economy, but also about social and environmental damage.

Isabelle Bourgogne talks about it with:

• Philip JachonAnd Director general Intersectoral Flood Network in Quebec He is a professor in the geography department at UQAM. He is also Director of the Center for the Study and Simulation of Climate at Regional Level (ESCER).
• Joanna Ekim, Director of Climate Change Adaptation Programs – Québec du Slim Center Climate Adaptation at the School of the Environment, University of Waterloo, Ontario.

Are we right to say that the phenomenon is increasing? Which cities are most affected elsewhere in Canada? In Quebec, about 80% of municipalities are affected directly or indirectly by floods: that’s a lot …

Climate change “affects the hydrological cycle in all its components,” says Jachun. What does this mean and what are the implications of severe and frequent floods?

The Intact Center published in February report Which awarded a C + rating to 16 major Canadian municipalities for their flood preparedness. It was the same rating in 2015. B-score Ottawa and Toronto performed better than Montreal and Quebec: how do you explain that? Ideally, how do we adapt to the size of a district, municipality or local population?

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I vote for science It is broadcast on Mondays at 1 pm on five regional stations from VM Radio. Run by Isabel Bourgogne. Find this offer: Aurélie Lagueux-Beloin. You can also listen to us, among others, on CIBO (Senneterre), CFOU (Trois-Rivières), CIAX (Windsor) and CFLX (Sherbrooke).

On this page you will find links to shows from previous seasons. You can also follow us Twitter and on The social networking site Facebook.

Photo: Montreal Flood, May 8, 2017. Ingrid Cold / Flickr