Flood Risk and Vulnerability Analysis Project - Atlantic Climate ...

communities should consider adding flood proofing standards, flood forecasting and warning
systems, flood insurance promotion, and property acquisition guidelines to their flood mitigation
and adaption program. As in all the Eastern Sub-regions, structural strategies apply to help
communities adapt to more rapid changes to sea level changes and storm frequency.
6.3.4 Mitigation Strategy Cost and Potential Benefits
In developing a flood mitigation and adaptation program, decision makers should consider how
the strategy will provide a positive impact in the area. The impact will be different for each area,
based on flood vulnerabilities that are affected by the three linked factors of climate, basin
characteristics, and socio-economic conditions. Local flood management goals included in a
community‟s flood mitigation and adaption program could include strategies aimed at mitigating
risks on the following:
Local industries that employ local residents;
Transportation systems and public infrastructure; or
Landowners in specific neighborhoods and districts.
Mitigation strategies that can help achieve these goals span a wide variety of activities, from
administrative to construction. Similarly, mitigation strategies span the spectrum of
implementation costs to communities. For instance, dam and levee projects, accounting for both
design and construction costs, typically have significant implementation costs. In contrast,
communities can implement non-structural strategies, such as reviewing and updating building
codes that enhance Provincial standards and guidance, relatively inexpensively, taking into
account staff time, advertising requirements for ordinance changes, and codification.
Therefore, planning efforts must evaluate the cost of mitigation and adaptation strategies when
developing their Plans. When goals and objectives are defined early in the planning process
and periodically updated, communities can measure the cost-effectiveness of different options
towards meeting these goals and objectives. Communities need to assess the full cost of
strategy implementation and measure that cost against the expected benefit the strategy will
have on meeting community goals. Table 6-7 presents the relative cost to implement the
individual mitigation and adaptation strategies applicable to Newfoundland communities.
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