Maritime cities perform poorly in flood preparedness

Maritime cities included in a research survey on flood preparedness could do no better than a mark of C, with Halifax coming in at the bottom of the list with a D.

The survey, sponsored by Co-operators Insurance and carried out by researchers at the University of Waterloo, looked at 16 factors related to flood preparedness. Halifax, Charlottetown and Fredericton were on the list of 15 Canadian cities surveyed, and they all ranked in the bottom half of the list.

• Halifax D
• Charlottetown C-
• Fredericton C

Halifax was ranked last in the country.

Charlottetown and Fredericton did well in Flood Plain Mapping and Land Use Planning. The report saidHalifax needs more up-to-date information and needs torestrict development inflood-prone areas.

Halifax and Fredericton were given good marks for making suredrainage systems are clear of debris, while Charlottetown's ranking was hurt because itonly clears culverts and sewage drains when there is a high-risk of flooding.

The report also highlightedthe need for Maritime cities to do more to encourage homeowners and property owners to install backwater valves, a device that stops water backing up into buildings when there is flooding. The report gave top marks to cities that make backwater valve installation mandatory in new home construction.

In general, the Maritime cities didpoorly in real estate adaptation audits for both residential and commercial properties.

The cities also performed poorly in infrastructure preparedness, things such as securing electricity, petroleum and food supplies. Fredericton did have one standout mark in the infrastructure area, getting an A for Transportation Systems.

The 15 cities will be surveyed again in 2018 to see how much progress has been made.