ICLR to host urban and basement flooding symposium

The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction will be holding a full-day event in Toronto this September on basement flooding issues.

 The Sept. 19 Urban/Basement Flooding Symposium comes in the wake of major flooding events in southern Alberta, and Calgary’s central business area in particular, as well as flooding in Greater Toronto Area that shut down major transit lines and power across the region.

The event, to be held at the Toronto Board of Trade downtown, will look at basement flooding causes and best practices for reducing the risk, in terms of household measures and infrastructure. It will also look at the impact of climate change on urban sewer infrastructure.

Presenters will include municipal water and wastewater experts and managers, researchers and experts on stormwater management measures.

Insured losses from the June flooding in Alberta are estimated to be about $1 billion. Intact Financial recently said that the rainstorm and flooding in the GTA on July 8  has resulted in an estimated $170 million of insurable damages for the company.

In a recent Canadian poll of about 1,700 people, 53% said they believed the flooding and storms were caused by climate change, according to a report in the Toronto Star.

Meanwhile, the National Post has reported that in a meeting of the country’s premiers taking place in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the leaders are calling for infrastructure improvements and investments to combat disasters such as severe flooding.

For attendee registration contact: Tracy Waddington: (416) 364-8677 or twaddington@iclr.org