From paper to web maps – lessons learned from 10 years of communicating coastal flood risk for land use planning in southeast New Brunswick

Flood risk maps are an important tool for adapting to coastal flooding. These tools need to be carefully created to meet adaptation objectives. Efforts to map and adapt to flood risk which considers sea-level rise began in... [ view full abstract ]

Flood risk maps are an important tool for adapting to coastal flooding. These tools need to be carefully created to meet adaptation objectives. Efforts to map and adapt to flood risk which considers sea-level rise began in southeast New Brunswick in 2009. This work has resulted in seven communities adopting land-use planning regulations that has reduced their risk to current and future coastal flooding. Since 2009, flood risk maps and related visualizations have evolved alongside the technologies that produce them. Visualization approaches have resultantly been refined to communicate flood risk and the benefits of adaptation more effectively. This presentation highlights the key lessons learned in communicating flood risk through the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology for land-use planning in southeast NB. Key lessons include: (1) the careful selection of a single flood scenario to map, (2) mapping flood extent and depth for the scenario with accurate information, (3) tracking and mapping the benefits realized through adaptation and (4) creating simple interactive web-map applications to communicate this information. Example visualizations will be presented that together provide an overview for coastal adaptation to climate change in southeast NB.