'The reality is kicking in': Experts say storms like Fiona are the new normal for Maritimers

Whether it's the destruction in Neil’s Harbour in Nova Scotia’s Victoria County, the massive downed trees in Sydney, N.S., or the receding dunes on Prince Edward Island, climate experts say the after-effects of post-tropical storm Fiona make up a new reality on the east coast -- a reality driven by climate change.

“We’re going to experience hurricanes or big storms along the lines of Fiona, not with increasing frequency, but with increasing magnitude,” says Brian Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo.

“The severity of the storms is going to get more challenging over time,” Feltmate says.

“With more heat in the system, there's more energy to the storms, and warmer air holds more moisture, so you get a combination of higher winds, and more water coming down in shorter periods of time, and that's all driven by climate change,” says Feltmate.

Those seeing the aftermath of that weather in the news say they are now thinking more about the effects of climate change in their own lives.

“I guess, the reality is kicking in more,” says Amena Imran, who is visiting Halifax from Ontario. “Before it was definitely not as acknowledged, but now with the current situation it's definitely more to think about.”

“It's something that we should definitely keep in mind, especially in terms of how we build our infrastructure these days,” adds her husband, Nasif Chaowdhruy.

Cheryl and Jim Drover of Fredericton often visit Florida in the winter months. They say the part of the state where they normally stay escaped the worst of Hurricane Ian, but has made them think of what could happen down the road.

“We should be taking it more in view of all the devastation caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, fire, [and] floods,” says Cheryl.

“But I think we need more participation from more people to be more serious about it, to get results,” says Jim.

A new report released by the Canadian Climate Institute has found the effects of climate change aren’t only damaging to the physical environment, but also to the country's economy and the overall well-being of Canadians.

“We're spending money fixing things that climate change breaks, instead of growing our economy and making it more productive,” says Ryan Ness, the Institute’s director of adaptation.

“By 2025, climate change will already be costing our economy $25 billion a year, and that will go up to hundreds of billions over the remainder of the century,” he says.

According to the report, the costs of repair and restoration after extreme climate events will slow GDP growth. Other costs include job losses due to lost productivity time. It also says forced government spending on post-event cleanup will redirect funds from other necessary programs and infrastructure.

According to Feltmate, the cost of climate change adaptation is far less than the cost of recovery and repair.

“The amount of money spent upfront on preparedness to avoid damage, generally speaking, is the square root of the financial cost that’s realized in the aftermath of damage if you don’t prepare,” he says.

Feltmate says that’s true for both residents and governments.

“We know the solutions, but we have to mobilize the solutions more quickly, to protect people and communities at the level of the home and more broadly the community itself.”

Opposition MLAs in Nova Scotia have criticized Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservative government for failing to expedite its Coastal Protection Act in light of Fiona’s wrath.

The Act, which was passed in 2019, sets rules to protect the coastline and guidelines for whether new homes or businesses can be built along the shore.

The regulations don’t take effect until 2023.

“I think we haven’t quite adapted our way of living on the coast or building on the coastlines,” says Will Balser, the coastal adaptation coordinator for the Ecology Action Centre.

He says the Act will be helpful once it takes effect, but doesn’t help in the interim.

“It doesn't do much to address all the existing housing and development that we have in flood-prone and storm surge-prone areas,” he says.

“Some areas broke high water level records because the peak of the storm just happened to time up with the high tide,” he says. “So it’s not just about being on the coastline, it’s also the unpredictability of the storms when they make landfall.

“At this point, we need to recognize that mitigation is not enough,” he adds. “We need to accept that the climate is changing, will continue to change, and adapt our way of living and building accordingly.”