Rebuild or retreat? Repeat flooding forces tough decisions on homeowners, governments [Video]

Spain, the south coast of B.C. and the southeastern U.S. are all cleaning up after torrential flooding this past month. Rebuilding will be difficult and costly.

As of last week, Florida’s back-to-back hurricanes had racked up $2.13 billion in insured losses from Hurricane Milton and $3 billion from Hurricane Helene, local media reported, citing the state government.

That led some Florida residents, including a local meteorologist, to raise another option — managed retreat. 

That can mean buyouts so homeowners can move somewhere safer, as has happened after repeat flooding in a number of Canadian provinces. Or it can mean moving infrastructure to higher ground, as is happening with Lawrencetown Road in Nova Scotia. A stretch of the highway is being relocated 40 metres inland, after coastal erosion ate away the headland it crosses, and big storms have often left it covered in water and debris, forcing it to close.

WATCH | Lawrencetown Road …