Municipal flood resilience in action training

Is your municipality ready to take action to address flood hazards such as heavy rainfall, river flooding, and coastal flooding, providing practical strategies to address challenges and strengthen resilience? Participate in our Municipal flood resilience in action training to equip your municipality with information on how to assess and address flood hazards in your community while implementing practical solutions that reduce flood risks and build resilience. The hands-on training leverages the expertise of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation and their Municipal Flood Risk Check-Up tool—a self-assessment questionnaire with 50 questions designed to assess potential flood hazards (flood exposure), and implementation of actions to reduce flood risks (flood preparedness).  

Each training session is free, delivered virtually via Zoom, and runs for three hours. Participants will engage in interactive activities, group discussions, and practical, scenario-based exercised designed to help municipalities move from planning to action. Sessions are capped at 40 participants to ensure personalized attention and meaningful engagement. There will be five sessions, each covering the same content but tailored to local governments in Canada who are:  

• Coastal communities, located along the Canada’s extensive coastlines (Oceans and Great Lakes), dealing with climate change impacts like rising sea levels and coastal erosion
• Small and medium communities with populations under 100,000
• Large communities with populations exceeding 100,000

This is a valuable opportunity to learn at your own pace while gaining practical skills and strategies to protect your community from flooding.  

Who should participate

The communities who will benefit the most will have mapped their natural assets, or they are working to renew their flood risks management strategies and are considering flood risks as part of their adaptation plans. This training will support communities who are moving from planning to implementation projects to address their flood risk concerns.

This training is essential for municipal staff and practitioners involved in flood risk management, including:

• Water engineers and staff from water/natural resources departments
• Asset management professionals
• Infrastructure teams
• Sustainability/climate adaptation practitioners
• Land use planners working in partnership with municipalities
• Social services professionals and those focused on accessibility

What you’ll learn

• Methods to prioritize flood risk actions based on different flood types and scales.
• How to integrates equity in flood risk mitigation, ensuring that vulnerable populations are considered in climate adaptation plans.
• Direct access to expert advice and hands-on activities for applying the tool in real-world scenarios.
• Guidance on how to secure funding for flood risk preparedness and take meaningful action through FCM’s LLCA Adaptation in Action initiative.
• How to use the Municipal Flood Risk Check-Up tool to assess your municipality’s exposure to flood hazards.

Training:  

Training is tailored for specific groups. Participants may select and attend only one session:  

• Small and medium communities - English: January 23, 2025, 12-3 p.m. ET
• Small and medium communities - French: January 27, 2025, 12-3 p.m. ET
• Coastal communities - English: February 20, 2025, 12-3 p.m. ET
• Coastal communities - French: February 24, 2025, 12-3 p.m. ET
• Large communities – Bilingual (simultaneous translation): February 27, 2025, 12-3 p.m. ET

Sign up by January 8, 2025.  

Eligible participants will be contacted by January 10, 2025 to confirm their participation to the training session of their choice.

Questions?

For questions about the training, please contact, Anne-Charlotte Olivier.

About the tool

The Municipal Flood Risk Check-Up tool is available in both English and French and will be a central focus of the training. The tool is downloadable and designed to help municipalities assess and implement flood risk preparedness actions.