Good progress is being made on a national strategy for flood protection and sea defences, says Environment Minister Richard Ronan.
Mr Ronan said he hoped to present the strategy to the July Tynwald.
A government steering group, comprising members of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, Department of Infrastructure, Treasury and Manx Utilities Authority, is working with flood risk experts JBA Consulting to develop the strategy.
This will address surface water, river and coastal flooding and coastal erosion.
The likely social, economic and environmental impact of flooding will be a major factor in determining which areas are a priority and whether the risk is to be monitored, dealt with in the long or short term or, in extreme cases, whether a ‘managed retreat’ is deemed the only viable option.
Mr Ronan said: ‘We saw in December the devastating effects severe flooding had on our island.
‘Being impacted by sea, swollen rivers, large volumes of standing water and the erosion of the coastline concern us all, whether householders, businesses or government. The economic and emotional impact of losing property and livelihoods to flooding or erosion can’t be over-estimated.
‘While we can never fully mitigate against the threats posed by nature, we need to ensure we are more resilient.
‘In the past, problems may have been dealt with on a piecemeal basis but this work, being conducted centrally through the Council of Ministers’ Environment and Infrastructure Committee, will lead to our first ever national strategy.
‘Really good progress has been made since we started work on the strategy in October and the steering group will finalise the strategy for July Tynwald.’