Extreme events
Reduce the risks of extreme events
Although flooding and coastal erosion events may be the first examples to come to mind in Quebec, multiple occurrences of violent winds, heat waves, coastal storms, forest fires and other extreme events also generate major costs every year. Ouranos proposes to help enhance understanding and improve knowledge mobilization with regard to the evolving risks of extreme events likely to be driven by climate change, as well as the different adaptation options to support prevention efforts.
Issues
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Growing problems and rising costs related to more intense and more frequent extreme events
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Inadequate consideration of the climate, physical, social, environmental and economic components of extreme events as well as their evolution in the decision-making process.
Objective(s)
In collaboration with ministries, municipalities, and parties responsible for catastrophe risk management:
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Develop a deeper understanding of evolving risks (vagaries and vulnerability factors) with respect to extreme events in a context of climate change;
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Develop a holistic understanding of climate change-related risks and undertake the search for solutions using a multi-hazard approach;
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Support the development of tools and solutions that allow climate change impacts to be taken into account in catastrophe risk prevention efforts.
The QClim'Eau initiative is part of a collaboration between the Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP) and Ouranos to make coordinated, scientific progress on hydroclimatological issues.
In the spring of 2017, historic water levels and a record number of landslides caused unprecedented flooding in Québec. In response to these floods, the Québec government launched a reflection on flood risk management in the context of climate change that culminated in the creation of the INFO-Crue project, led by the Ministère de l’environnement et de la lutte aux changements climatiques (MELCC) and supported by Ouranos.
