An Investigation of the Current Situation of Floodplain Mapping in British Columbia: A Fuzzy Rule-Based Approach

Abstract

The increased intensity of floods has become an emerging phenomenon in British Columbia, Canada. Flooding causes significant damage to properties and the built environment. The flood damage is magnified by the unthoughtful location choices for settlements and incoherent land use policies. This has severely restricted the capacity to build resilience to adapt to the unpredictable challenges of floods. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the current state of the floodplain maps that entail the spatial distribution of floods and the associated risks to the communities is paramount. Therefore, the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) attempted to identify pathways to increase awareness of the current state of the floodplain maps and prepare an updated inventory and its vitality to build resilient communities. The survey results suggested that 38.5% of the communities have created or updated their floodplain maps since 2015, and 62% of the maps meet the British Columbia Flood Hazard Area Land Use Management Guidelines. However, a survey conducted in 2020 suggested an increase in the response rate by 12.8%, which indicates a growing urgency to mitigate flood risks. Due to a lack of expertise and pertinent knowledge, 46% of the communities could not create or update the floodplain maps. In addition, the lack of provincial funding was identified as a key impediment to the floodplain mapping that was experienced by 37.5% of the communities. A schematic perception–action–state–accessibility–usage (PASAU) framework was proposed in this study to confirm the current state of floodplain mapping. The British Columbia, Canada, regions were ranked following a fuzzy rule-based approach to assess the nature and status of preparations for floodplain maps. The result suggests that the Northern Territories, Canada, lie at the low and others are at the medium scale. Communities that scored low were attributed to a lack of funding, in-house expertise, data, and planning endeavors. This study suggested actions for different tiers of the government to make the communities safer and more resilient. The frequency and impacts of flooding are increasing in British Columbia, Canada. The location choices for settlements and incoherent land use policies have increased the intensity of its impact. This stems from the need for floodplain maps that show the spatial distribution of floods and associated risks. The BCREA prepared an updated floodplain maps inventory from 2015. A survey found that 38% of the communities have created or updated their floodplain maps since then. The survey revealed an increased response (12.8%) and a growing urgency to mitigate flood risks. A lack of expertise and pertinent in-house expertise, data, and provincial funding were identified as the key impediments to the absence or lack of updates on the floodplain maps. In this study, a schematic PASAU framework was proposed to confirm the current state of floodplain mapping. The British Columbia, Canada, regions were ranked to assess the preparation status for floodplain maps. In the preparation and updating of floodplain maps, the Northern Territories, Canada, lie at the low and others at the medium level, and a few communities scored low. To make the communities safer and more resilient, a few actions on planning, management, and governance were suggested for adoption.