Prince Edward Island is Canada’s smallest province, at 5,660km2, and with a population approaching just 146,5001. A small but significant proportion of the island (370km2, 6.5% of the total land area) has an elevation less than or equal to 3m above mean sea level, making it vulnerable to flooding in the event of a large storm event.
The effects of climate change on PEI are projected to be severe. Sudden increases in elevation of the sea level due to storm surges will occur during increasingly large storm events2. Additionally, mean sea level is expected to rise by 1m by the end of the century on average. To compound this vulnerability to flooding, PEI’s substrate consists primarily of red sandstone, and is incredibly susceptible to erosion, making further areas, currently at higher elevation, along the coastline vulnerable to the sea.
This project assesses the potential vulnerability of buildings and road infrastructure with respect to four sea level scenarios, (0,1,2, and 3m) across the island with the goal of increasing awareness and dialogue, and encouraging the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies for the affected population.
Preliminary evaluation shows the following number of buildings affected island-wide by each of the sea level scenarios:
- 2215 vulnerable at 0m (at risk now)
- 3510 vulnerable in a 1m storm surge event
- 4623 vulnerable in a 2m storm surge event
- 5634 vulnerable in a 3m storm surge event
Individual vulnerability varies greatly depending on the local situation, as discussed in the conclusions section of this website.
Please feel free to navigate between the pages of this site to explore the objectives, data, methodology and conclusions of this project.
1. Prince Edward Island Statistics Beaurea, http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/pt_pop_proj.pdf
2. Government of Canada, (2014) Adapting to sea level rise in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Available at: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/earthsciences/pdf/mun/pdf/13-0647-Charlottetown_e.pdf