Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

There is a sad irony in this happening in the centre of the tar patch:

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/06/24...limate-Change/

"A 2006 Provincial Flood Mitigation Report even recommended that the province forbid the selling of flood plains to developers. But the one-party state deep sixed the report for five years and did not make it public until 2012".

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/06/24/a...limate-change/

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

So, they got what they deserved, did they?

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

Water has to go somewhere. If you cover that somewhere with concrete, the water will go to where it is being forced to. The same happens in the UK.

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

BC, forever raging

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

I haven't seen any suggestions regarding the return period of the 2013 flooding. I've heard mention that the 2005 flood wasn't even a 20 year return period and the only reference I could find after a quick look was to a 14 year return period. The significant floods in Calgary occured in the early part of the 20th century.

https://www.calgary.ca/UEP/Water/Doc...tor_CENTRE.pdf

Tying the flooding to climate change does seem to be wishful thinking.

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca...ffasixcase.pdf

Couldn't open the link jmf provided but this link details flood events up until 1996. It is missing 1996-now which included the 2005 flood. it looks to me like the last time the bow flooded close to this badly as this flood was in the thirties.

This page suggests the peak bow flow was 1740 m3/s in 2013 .
â—¾2005 peak flow: 791 cms
â—¾1932 peak flow: 1,520 cms

So this was a very large flood:
http://alberta.ca/estimated-peak-river-flows.cfm

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

Wishful thinking?? What on earth do you mean by that?

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

Certainly the maximum flow for 2013 is comparable with the 1932 flow but it also seems that the flow in 2013 was sustained for a longer time. Figure 5.1 indicates higher flows in the late 19th century. Calgary seems to have been free of significant flooding for most of the time the city has existed.

The link I posted previously showed the limit of the river valley - highlighting the extent that modern Calgary occupies the river valley.

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

This is a good flood map:

http://environment.alberta.ca/01655.html

Click on the hazard app

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

Perhaps it's not "wishful thinking", but it certainly smacks of waving a convenient fact (the flooding) to support a preconcieved position (climate change).

I've no strong opinion on climate change, but I do agree that building houses on known floodplains is a foolhardy thing to do. The clue's in the name, innit?

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

Very good map. I reckon you could almost exactly overlay the actual flooding with the known flood hazard areas.

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

So flooding and building in the old areas doesn't surprise me, after all Calgary is there because of the confluence of two rivers, so like many cities there is bound to be some development on a floodplain; but Discovery ridge? It seems amazing that some developer was granted permission to stick a load of houses there, none built with any particular flood measures (you can build houses to minimise damage when they flood, a friend in York had one, electrics above flood level, all concrete floor and half way up walls, designed to dry out effectively with minimal spend and everyone was allowed to develop their basement and now the city/province picks up the tab? Very weird

Apparently, flowing the 2005 flood a guy at work did some modelling for the city and it was used as a predictive tool for this flood, ie areas etc. Apparently it worked very effectively

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

Its certainly in the name High River....

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

Don't think it quite mimics Bowness or sunnyside? But certainly Discovery ridge

Re: Climate change and the Alberta Floods
 

I believe in man-made climate change. I also think that its tenuous to link this event to climate change. Why? Well for starters its happened before. Secondly I think the climate change predictions make for a drier alberta with reduced summer river flows.

Albertans are suffering big time; sure they deplete natural resources but I don't see BC as angels in all this; they are still developing fossil fuels (quintette just got a permit to take most of a mountain away) and devastate huge tracts of land with resource development, subsequent tailings etc.

Sure some Albertans lived in a flood zone but that's like not having sympathy if a big quake struck Vancouver (which it will)