Academic urges Quebec to look to Europe as model to address flood management
MONTREAL — A Quebec academic says the province lags behind other jurisdictions when it comes to proactive flood management, but can easily catch up by adopting the model used in Europe.
Pascale Biron, a professor of geography, planning and environment at Concordia University, says Quebec lacks a centralized, governmental body to oversee, track and maintain data on potential vulnerable flood risk areas.
That pales in comparison to many Canadian provinces, parts of the United States and in particular Europe where, since 2007, countries have had to provide flood plain maps and clearly identify at-risk areas.
Biron said a simple Internet search in those jurisdictions leads residents to the valuable information.