Support for INFO-Crue

• Flooding is a recurrent phenomenon in Quebec, as testified by the events of 2017 and 2019;

• After the events of 2017, there was discussion of the need for comprehensive and up-to-date mapping of flood zones throughout Quebec that would foster adequate awareness of the risk inherent in land management decisions and the implementation of adaptation solutions;

• For an adequate understanding of risk, it is imperative that climate change be taken into account in the mapping process.

In response to these issues, the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC), in collaboration with a number of partners, is implementing the INFO-Crue project, which aims to achieve the following: 

• Offer tools that can be used to identify flood zones throughout most of southern Quebec, which is necessary to take land management decisions while accounting for climate change;

• Implement a real-time forecasting system that will provide authorities and the general public with a map of sectors that may be prone to flooding within the next few days.

Given that the scope of the INFO-Crue project requires the involvement of multiple players, Ouranos was tasked by the MELCC to support it in developing the project. This mandate consists of the following five main objectives:

• Document flood history to establish the quantitative bases for developing INFO-Crue;

• Produce climate simulations, scenarios and analyses to estimate how flood zones are evolving in the context of a changing climate;
  Identify priority zones to be mapped;
  Promote the use of INFO-Crue in decision-making;

• Continue to develop knowledge and improve the necessary methods and tools to properly account for climate change when assessing flood risk and choosing adaptation solutions.

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