Part of the problem is climate change, but the other half is the society/establishment. There is one dam in Quebec that is over flowing, causing flooding downriver. The dam is supposed to withstand an 1000 year flood (so its not supposed to overflow in 1000 years). Companies and government buy into that system, so when it actually floods its a disaster.
I'd like to know who designed that system, they sure are wrong about those 1000 year floods and others. I've been to places in Australia where the houses are built on stilts, so living quarters are 10 feet off the ground, in case of flash floods etc.
So if an area has been flooded, rebuild using stilt houses. You can enclose the bottom, but no services would be allow in the down stairs part. Things stored down there would have to be in water proof containers...
Or build house boats, when it floods in the spring you can travel the water ways until it floods next year; and you can make it back to your property...
I can forsee a new industry for Ontario, Quebec and NB, the replacing of houses with houseboats.... So when it floods, people will be going to the cooler to get a beer.....
Personally I would get one of those large pontoon boats; put 2 150 HP outboards on it......
The other side of the story is that people are stupid, they did not think to check to see if they lived in a flood plain, ask any realator, their ready answer is/would be " its a 500/1000 year flood...." The person buying accepts this answear, thinking I'm safe.....
Or maybe they did not build enough dams further up the river system....