ICLR launched the Resilience in Recovery program to support build back better initiatives in Canadian communities following severe losses. Through this program, the Institute provides assistance to communities in an advisory capacity as they aim to build climate resilient homes and infrastructure following a major loss. We find scope for transformative improvement in community resilience to climate change during reconstruction of damaged homes, buildings and public infrastructure.
The Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC Protocol) was developed to assist engineers in factoring climate change impacts into plans for design, operation and maintenance of public infrastructure. The Protocol is free of charge for any application to public infrastructure in Canada and may also be used for private infrastructure.
Local governments are taking action to reduce the risk to Canadians from extreme weather. ICLR’s Cities adapt: Celebrating local leadership is a series of books extolling local governments adapting to climate change and building more resilient communities. The books include case studies describing local actions in Canada that are consistent with best practices for climate resilience as identified by the Institute.
IDF_CC is a web-based intensity-duration-frequency tool to update and adapt local extreme rainfall statistics to climate change. The IDF_CC tool is pre-loaded with 898 Environment and Climate Change Canada rain stations. Users can select any rain station with 10 or more years of data and develop IDF curves based on historical data and curves adjusted to reflect climate change.
ICLR’s Earthquake Risk tool has been developed with the CoreLogic Canada Earthquake Model. The intent of this risk tool is to provide insights into the relative earthquake risk across Canada. This risk considers both the seismic hazard and population at risk in each region. Simply enter your postal code and get your relative risk of an earthquake in any region in Canada.
A collaboration between ICLR and the University of Guelph’s School of Engineering, the Basement Flood Protection Lab seeks to better understand technologies that are applied to control urban flood risk in Canada. This collaboration has specifically emphasized understanding of lot-level (household level) methods of managing flood risk. The primary intent is to better understand the reliability and efficacy of these measures.
This microsite contains a protocol that will help plumbers/installers, plumbing inspectors and others to review the necessary steps involved in the installation of a backwater valve. This site provides information relevant to homes serviced by underground, public sewer systems, typically located in urban areas.
According to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IIBHS), at least one-quarter of small businesses impacted by a natural disaster never reopen. The IIBHS offers a variety of tools in its Open for Business™ program for small business owners. This program not only reduces potential disaster loses but also assists businesses to reopen quickly should disaster strike. ICLR has entered into an agreement with IIBHS to employ some of these strategies in Canada.