updated flood plain maps will send the housing market underwater: neil macdonald - house battery backup

Note to angry conservative readers: Katie Telford did not assign this opinion column. (
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff, the only world in which journalists are actually assigned, is the fanatic swamp of the right wing.
Wing conspiracy theory).
No, this column was inspired by sandbags and portable toilets on the streets near the Ottawa River, where I almost bought a house four years ago.
In retrospect, the failure of these negotiations is a little bit of luck that I am very grateful for now.
For obvious reasons, I would never consider shopping by the river now, and my guess is that those miserable residents on sandbag streets spend a lot of time thinking about their family values and the next catastrophic flood.
Twice in the past three years.
A few weeks ago, the river in Ottawa soared past the banks of the river, still rising scary.
As early as 2015, I never thought about checking whether there was a risk of flooding in the house we were trying to buy.
It is an advantage, not a threat, by the river.
Even if I checked it, it won't do any good.
The flood plain map of Canada has been out of date for 25 years.
But that will change.
Next year, the federal government will begin uploading nearly 2,000 users.
Friendly flood plains maps, update them with the latest geospatial data.
Ultimately, the community will find itself recognizedrisk.
What impact will this have on their home value and flood insurance premiums (
Assuming they can even get insurance), is obvious.
The market has depreciated sharply! Oh! ," says Prof.
Blair fettmet was pleased to be asked this question.
"There is a guarantee that the housing industry in Canada will fall sharply.
Millions of dollars will soon turn into $500,000.
"Feltmate is the head of the complete climate adaptation Center at the University of Waterloo and one of the leading elites
Many of us try to ignore the problem.
Now, the effort to update the flood plain map is not from a free climate before fever Rangers start shouting a conspiracy --
A revolutionary evangelist like Trudeau's Environment Minister Catherine McKenna.
Or David Suzuki.
Or a Green Party.
It comes from the insurance industry.
In other words, conservatives: market power.
The center of Feltmate is funded primarily by the full insurance company, one of the largest players in the industry.
It is not strange;
No industry is more vulnerable to the direct threat of climate change than insurance.
Between 1983 and 2008, annual insurance spending for catastrophic events in Canada (mainly floods) averaged between $0. 25 billion and $0. 45 billion a year, Feltmate said.
In the decade since 2009, the average annual expenditure for nine years was $1. 8 billion.
The average expenditure for flooded basement is $43,000, and it is still rising.
So there are two things this industry wants:
Proofing and re-evaluating the premium (
Or decide where not to insure during the period).
To do this, it needs data.
The new, updated flood risk map will provide clear reasons for some homeowners to significantly increase their premiums or completely reject insurance.
It doesn't take much imagination to guess what happens when the new map starts to appear.
"It will bring new areas (
Newly incorporated into the flood plain)
Into panic mode, "Feltmate said.
"There will be a lot of resistance, a lot of alarm.
Your home is now defaced.
The value of a house is exactly the same as the value of someone willing to write a check for it, and who will write a big check for a house that is suddenly identified as at risk of flooding?
"You'll see people starting to default on their mortgage because they know they owe more money to their home than ever before.
"In the real estate market, the short term for this term is" underwater ".
"The term has so far been figurative, not literal.
In addition, Feltmate said the new data will also confirm what experts have known for some time:-
Risk families in Canada cannot be saved.
Their owners will have to evacuate.
Incentives for repositioning have begun. The (conservative)
The Québec government, citing climate change, decided to limit flood relief and now provides $200,000 to residents in areas with extremely high flood risk in order to move elsewhere.
This reaction, of course, is immediate.
Flooded homeowners across the province told reporters that the government's proposal did not begin to cover what they thought was the value of the home.
In fact, the real value of their home may now be close to zero in some cases.
After the disasters of 2017 and 2019, who will buy a house near the water at Gatineau point opposite Ottawa?
Or Lake Montagne west of Montreal?
Parts of London, Ontario or Calgary?
The government may eventually have to force high, says Feltmate.
Risk residents leave: Here is some money and we are closing your utility.
Whether there will be more flooding is not a problem, he said.
"What we have seen so far is nothing compared to what is coming.
In fact, the atmosphere is warming and the warm air carries more water.
This is the new normal.
Feltmate said: "The changes that have taken place so far are irreversible-this is publicly documented and recently confirmed in a shocking report released last month by federal scientists.
It will get worse, faster and fast.
So far, most of the house inspectors have received minimum training in basement flood assessment, and they are studying courses that will undoubtedly become mandatory.
In fact, universities are putting courses online.
It is almost certain that the mortgage provider will begin to demand such an assessment as a condition for approval.
Canadian Mortgage and Housing companies that provide insurance for mortgages may start to insist.
If there is any good news here, it is that communities and homeowners can take steps to significantly reduce the risk of flooding.
It will be possible to effectively repair yourself on those flood plains maps and protect the value of your home.
But spend money.
Feltmate's complete Center lists the steps anyone can take in addition to Noah's flood to keep the basement dry.
Install two sewage pumps with spare batteries and it will continue to work when the power supply runs out.
Waterproof windows on the ground.
Make sure the Downpipe is far from your foundation.
Install the callback.
Clean the sewers and sewers.
Dig and replace grades even around your house.
"Not on the table": Watson wants Queen's Park to consider the flood issue, but eutiquick wants to drive home owners out of the flood area, Feltmate says there are houses in higher ground
Now more frequent "water bomb" storms can (and will)
Immediately turn the whole city into a flood plain. At-
Risk communities can install concrete barriers, berms, diversion channels, underground reservoirs, and improve natural marsh wetlands and swamps as natural drainage systems.
The government must start banning new homes in the flood zone.
Incredibly, most provinces-Ontario is the only province that claims provincial control --
Leave this decision to the municipalities, and under pressure from developers, some of them are still allowed to do so and are eager for new property tax revenue.
The reality is, the flood
The cost of proofing in Canada will be amazing and expensive in history.
But not the cost of the flood.
Canada will be immeasurable.
This is absolutely what must be done and must be done now.
The only question is, who will pay?
This is a political issue.
Katie Telford, or anyone in any party trying to win this fall's election, may not want to talk about the topic.
There is a reason why these maps are not updated within 25 years.
There's more next week.
This column is part of the CBC opinion section.
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