Planning for disaster: Assessing the overland flood hazard in the rural municipality of De Salaberry

Overland flooding is a hazard that plagues many Rural Municipalities (RM) in Manitoba. It is a destructive, damaging hazard, which has the potential to disrupt and uproot the lives, businesses and communities of all those in the hazard area. Policy in Manitoba has focused on emergency response rather mitigating potential effects.; This study investigates the consequences of overland flooding, demonstrating how the lack of mitigation and preparedness contributed to the severity of damage in one rural municipality, namely De Salaberry. To measure the impact of overland flooding in the municipality, the physical characteristics of the hazard were examined. The influencing political, economic factors and social characteristics of the municipality were explored. The role of three key factors, namely existing emergency plans, availability of disaster financial assistance, and local government were analyzed.; The results of this study indicate that the local authority in the municipality requires adequate information about the hazard of overland flooding and regular education and training are critical to build their capacities and reduce their vulnerabilities. It is also imperative that mitigation strategies are adopted to prevent a continual cycle of disaster-damage-repair-disaster. Also, this research shows that disaster financial assistance does not encourage preventative change and exemplifies how assistance should come in the form of support to foster relationships between municipalities and government agencies to develop mutual aid agreements. Finally, this study demonstrates that more research is required to investigate how policy in Manitoba can be improved to better address municipal emergency management concerns.