SPRING 2026

January 30, 2026 - RIISQ Webinar - The many resources on flooding in Quebec: new tools to find your way around

Elaine Després (RIISQ coordinator) and Alice Carle (doctoral candidate and research assistant) will present two new complementary knowledge dissemination tools recently developed by the RIISQ.

To address the overabundance and fragmentation of information on flooding (from scientific, governmental, and other sources), the RIISQ is launching a new website that catalogs this information, facilitates searches, and allows users to identify overlaps and gaps, notably through searches by region, keywords, or target audience. Elaine will present this tool, its development, functionality, and future prospects. The RIISQ also offers a regularly updated bibliographic monitoring service for flood researchers, which already includes over 1,800 references categorized by RIISQ themes, sectors, event type, and more. Alice will present her methodology for populating this service and how to use it.

REGISTER

The event puts floods at the heart of discussions while broadening the scope to include other hazards. It draws on new flood zone maps, a modernized regulatory framework, and knowledge sharing to translate science into concrete actions. The goal is to develop practical solutions that can be immediately applied at the watershed and regional levels.

Organized by:

2026 Edition Theme: For this edition, the RHQ has chosen to focus its programming on the realities of extreme hydrometeorological events in Quebec.

UQAM – Pierre-Dansereau Science Complex – Sherbrooke Pavilion – 200 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal.

Training on torrential rain management in urban areas

Torrential rains and flooding represent a growing challenge for Quebec cities. Their increasing frequency and intensity have major impacts on infrastructure, housing, public health, and civil security, and generate considerable financial and human costs across the province.

It is essential to equip professionals and researchers in the field and to train a new generation of professionals capable of meeting the challenges of urban flooding. To this end, the RIISQ and the RISC Centre are organizing an interdisciplinary seminar/summer school on flood management in urban areas, to be held from June 16 to 19, 2026, in Montreal.

The training aims to combine scientific and professional knowledge to foster shared reflection and identify concrete courses of action. Recent case studies, including Storm Debby or the intense rains in Trois-Rivières in the summer of 2025, will serve as a basis for discussion and will help to ground the exchanges in lived experiences.

Program