Flood risk and hazard assessment on Lulu Island

Lulu Island contains most of the Municipality of Richmond. Richmond is a growing community with 100,000 population located south of the city of Vancouver in the Fraser River estuary. The flood hazard from both the sea and the Fraser River are well known and to protect against it, an extensive diking system has been built. Despite this diking system a significant residual flood hazard has been created by the extensive development on the island. In addition, concerns have been raised about potential flooding from earthquake damage and a predicted rise in sea level due to global warming. This thesis analyses the extent of the flood hazard from various sources. New techniques of risk analysis and findings on risk perception are used to examine the flood risk. The role of contingency planning for flood control in conjunction with dikes is examined. Finally, the role of flood insurance is discussed as a method of providing information about flood risk levels to floodplain users. Conclusions are drawn about the adequacy of current flood control measures and recommendations are made to improve them.Applied Science, Faculty ofCivil Engineering, Department ofGraduat