For example, he said warm weather in one area could affect flooding risk hundreds of kilometres away, adding that the situation changes from one day to the next and from year to year.
Bélanger for his part, believes it's time for a public debate on how we manage our waterways and how we mitigate flooding. That means deciding on what areas to protect and what areas not to protect, he said.
"The water has to go somewhere when there's a flood ... you cannot block it all over the place," Bélanger said.
Before that discussion can take place, however, Bélanger said the government needs to provide updated flood maps.
"So those are the areas that are going to be considered as a high risk of flooding, which means for the owners, they're going to lose value on their properties," he said.
"When we'll see the maps, we'll be able to have that public discussion on what do we do now?"
Thumbnail image credit to Sébastien Roy/Cool FM Mix 99.7 via MeteoMedia.
This article was originally written by Annabelle Olivier and published forCBC News. It contains files from Rowan Kennedy.
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