Storm surge causes an increase in water levels, which results in flooding of the low-lying community. Rising sea level over the coming decades will cause even greater flooding in the community compared to what has been experienced in the past. Changing sea-ice conditions will also mean the community will be exposed to storm surge flooding for a longer period of the year.

Flood extent can be predicted based on known water levels during storms and topographic maps of the area. These maps show the area of Tuk that would be flooded under different storm and sea level conditions, by filling in the area that is lower than the water height in these scenarios [1].

Use the menu on the right to see the current and future flooding in Tuktoyaktuk during storms:

• Select a storm frequency: storm size can be expressed as a probability of occurrence. For example, a 1-in-2-year storm has a 50% chance of occurring in a given year, while a 1-in-100-year storm has a 1% chance.

• Select a year: climate change (including changes to sea level and storm activity) has an important effect on flooding, and the amount of flooding is expected to increase in the near future. Change the year of the map to see the flooding conditions today or in the years 2050 and 2100 under RCP8.5 climate change conditions.