A flood risk assessment to municipal infrastructure due to changing climate part I: methodology

Abstract

Extreme rainfall events that are occurring more frequently as an effect of climate change and variability are causing increasing damages to municipal infrastructure. A methodology is developed to quantify the risk to municipal infrastructure from climate change-related flooding. The risk is measured using a combination of flow/frequency, stage/damage and damage/frequency curves. The measure of risk is termed the Risk Index and calculated for each infrastructure element within a municipality. The risk is aggregated and summed by spatial unit and presented in the form of risk tables and maps. The risk index takes into account both quantitative and qualitative information obtained from research and interviews with technical experts. The results from the application of the methodology to a municipality will lead to better policy and informed decision making.

Keywords::

• flood risk assessment
• floodplain management
• spatial risk
• climate change
• risk mitigation

Acknowledgements

This work was made possible by financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and by the City of London. The authors would also like to thank our colleagues Hyung-Il Eum and Dragan Sredojevic whose work provided the input to this research.