Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Status: Active
Operational Plan: 2019 - 2020

Understanding the economic costs of floods and other extreme weather and climate events is central to addressing impacts, allocating adequate resources for monitoring and preparedness, and building resilient communities. At present, methods for estimating the costs of flood damage vary significantly across North America. This project aims to develop a standardized methodology for assessing the cost of extreme floods, and to extend it to a multi-hazard assessment incorporating other extreme events (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, landslides) as a resource for decision-makers.

Issue

• Understanding the economic cost of floods and other extreme weather and climate events is central to addressing their impacts, allocating adequate resources for monitoring and preparedness, and building community resilience
• Methods for estimating the cost of flood damage vary significantly across North America

Aim

• The CEC is developing a standardized methodology for assessing the cost of catastrophic floods in Canada, Mexico, and the United States
• This will aid governments and private entities in their assessments of infrastructure and institutional investment priorities to enhance community resilience
• The methodology will then be extended to a multi-hazard assessment covering other extreme events (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, landslides)

Deliverable

• A common flood-costing methodology for use in planning better community resilience
• Case studies of multi-hazard impacts, using standardized economic measures