Understanding Coastal Risks Technical Work

The Our Changing Coast initiative will also help improve our understanding of coastal risk through two technical studies:

A Coastal Flood Risk Assessment will help us better understand where areas important to the community (e.g., infrastructure, homes, essential services, parks, etc.) have the highest exposure to coastal hazards, and how this may evolve with climate change. Part of this work involves taking time to hear from our community members and understand what is important to them.

An Erosion Hazard Assessment will help us understand where the shoreline is increasing or decreasing, and by how much.

Together, this technical work will help us identify risk hot spots, understand what is at risk in those areas, and give us some of the information needed to figure out how best to prepare and respond.

Understanding how to prepare and respond

Impacts of climate change on coastlines can occur quickly through intense storm and erosion events, and more slowly through sea level rise that happens over decades. In coastal areas, solutions are often expensive, involve more than one jurisdiction and can have unexpected impacts on other values, like fish and shoreline habitats. The results of this information coupled with sound collaboration and engagement will inform the co-development of a Coastal Climate Adaptation Strategy for the region at the end of the four-year program.

The strategy would include the development of effective and coordinated actions, and the long-term relationships needed for sustained action. The strategy creation and implementation would be guided by a range of interest holders including First Nations, local governments, supporting agencies and interest groups, shoreline property owners, businesses, and community members to prepare for coastal climate change impacts.