Flood Processes in Canada: Regional and Special Aspects
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Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques ISSN: 0701-1784 (Print) 1918-1817 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tcwr20 Flood processes in Canada: Regional and special aspects James M. Buttle, Diana M. Allen, Daniel Caissie, Bruce Davison, Masaki Hayashi, Daniel L. Peters, John W. Pomeroy, Slobodan Simonovic, André St- Hilaire & Paul H. Whitfield To cite this article: James M. Buttle, Diana M. Allen, Daniel Caissie, Bruce Davison, Masaki Hayashi, Daniel L. Peters, John W. Pomeroy, Slobodan Simonovic, André St-Hilaire & Paul H. Whitfield (2016): Flood processes in Canada: Regional and special aspects, Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques, DOI: 10.1080/07011784.2015.1131629 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2015.1131629 Published online: 29 Jan 2016. Submit your article to this journal View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tcwr20 Download by: [University of Saskatchewan Library] Date: 29 January 2016, At: 06:56 Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2015.1131629 Flood processes in Canada: Regional and special aspects James M. Buttlea*, Diana M. Allenb, Daniel Caissiec, Bruce Davisond, Masaki Hayashie, Daniel L. Petersf, John W. Pomeroyg, Slobodan Simonovich, André St-Hilairei and Paul H. Whitfieldb,j aTrent University, Peterborough, Canada; bDepartment of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada; cDepartment of Fisheries and Ocean, Moncton, Canada; dEnvironment Canada, Saskatoon, Canada; eUniversity of Calgary, Calgary, Canada; fEnvironment Canada, Water & Climate Impacts Research Centre, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada; gCentre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada; hDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, Western University, London, Canada; iINRS-ete, Québec, Canada; jEnvironment Canada, Vancouver, Canada (Received 13 April 2015; accepted 8 December 2015) This paper provides an overview of the key processes that generate floods in Canada, and a context for the other papers in this special issue – papers that provide detailed examinations of specific floods and flood-generating processes. The historical context of flooding in Canada is outlined, followed by a summary of regional aspects of floods in Canada and descriptions of the processes that generate floods in these regions, including floods generated by snowmelt, rain-on-snow and rainfall. Some flood processes that are particularly relevant, or which have been less well studied in Canada, are described: groundwater, storm surges, ice-jams and urban flooding. The issue of climate change-related trends in floods in Canada is examined, and suggested research needs regarding flood-generating processes are identified. Cet article dresse un portrait des principaux processus essentiels à la génération des crues au Canada et conséquemment, donne le ton pour les autres articles inclus dans ce numéro spécial, dans lesquels on traite d’événements spécifiques et des processus qui en font la genèse. Le contexte historique des crues au Canada est résumé sous forme régionale, avec une description des processus spécifiques à chaque région, qui incluent entre autre les crues nivales, celles causées par des précipitations liquides sur couvert de neige et les crues pluviales. Certains processus jugés particulièrement pertinents ou qui ont été moins étudiés au Canada sont décrits : eau souterraine, surcotes associées aux tempêtes, embâcles de glace et les crues en milieu urbain. La problématique des changements climatiques au Canada est aussi examinée et des pistes de recherche liée aux processus causant les crues sont identifiées. Introduction The spatial ubiquity of flood-generating processes Flooding, the inundation of normally dry areas with also varies for the particular process and size of drainage water, is the most common and costliest natural disaster basin being considered. Much of Canada is seasonally for Canadians (Sandink et al. 2010), and can be gener- snow covered, and these regions experience snowmelt- fl ated by a range of processes. These include snowmelt generated oods often supplemented by rain-on-snow fl runoff, “flash flooding” due to intense rainfall, ice jams events. Such oods are often the maxima in large drai- that develop during ice formation or breakup, failure of nage basins, when the entire basin may contribute water fl natural dams, and coastal flooding from storm surges, to the outlet. Similarly, oods can be generated across hurricanes and tsunamis (Figure 1). Flooding may also most of the country by rainstorms with large depths and/ Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 06:56 29 January 2016 be induced by human activity, including flooding caused or intensities (Figure 1). Thus, convective and frontal by urban development and by failure or abnormal opera- systems can generate large short-duration rainfall intensi- tion of engineered flood-management structures such as ties (Alila 2000) which can occur in all regions (Table 1). fi fl dams and levees. Nevertheless, the signi cance of such storms to ood Flooding can occur at almost any time of the year generation varies across the country, with the greatest somewhere in Canada; however, the relative significance depths and intensities for short-duration events in south- of a specific flood-generating process may vary markedly ern parts of Canada and the smallest in the Arctic. These fl throughout the year. Thus, snowmelt-driven floods are short-duration events are often responsible for ood gen- more frequent in spring and early summer and ice jams eration in relatively small drainage basins, given the are associated with spring breakup of river ice cover, greater chance of high-intensity rainfall occurring over fl while flash floods generated by intense rainfalls happen the entire basin (Watt et al. 1989). Rainfall-driven oods in summer when atmospheric convection is more in larger basins are usually associated with long-duration common. *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] © 2016 Canadian Water Resources Association 2 J.M. Buttle et al. which have received relatively little attention to date in Canada are discussed. Climate-related trends in floods are summarized, and the paper concludes with suggested research needs regarding flood-generating processes in Canada. Historical context of flooding in Canada Flooding is a costly natural disaster for Canadians (Sandink et al. 2010), claiming the lives of more than 200 people and causing over CAD $2 billion in damage during the twentieth century (Jakob and Church 2011). This value is conservative, given the ~CAD $1 billion in Figure 1. Flood disasters in Canada by type between 1990 fl and 2013. damage from the 1996 Saguenay ood alone (Leclerc and Secretan 2016). Figure 2 combines flooding informa- tion from the Canadian Disaster Database (CDD; Public storms which tend to have greater areal coverage Safety Canada 2014) and Brooks et al. (2001) to summa- (Dingman 2002). Such events occur across southern rize the number of events, deaths and evacuations, and Canada (Table 1), although the generating mechanisms damages resulting from floods that caused reportable may differ. In eastern Canada (east of 83° longitude; damage and/or loss of life from 1900 to 2010 with esti- fl Watt et al. 1989) these oods may be linked to hurricane mates for the years following. Damage estimates from remnants (Milrad et al. 2009; Watt and Marsalek 2013). the CDD (based on federal, provincial, insurance and Long-duration rainfalls in western Canada may be asso- non-governmental organization payments, and municipal ciated with bands of concentrated near-surface water and other government department costs) were used; dam- fi vapour over the Paci c Ocean (atmospheric rivers ages are expressed in 2010 Canadian dollars and were “ ” referred to popularly as the Pineapple Express , PE) adjusted by the Consumer Price Index (CPI; as reported which can generate intense storms of orographically in Public Safety Canada 2014). enhanced precipitation (P) in coastal mountain regions There are several deficiencies in using these sources (Roberge et al. 2009; Dettinger 2011; Spry et al. 2014), to construct a flood record for Canada. Not all events in or mesoscale systems in inland regions such as the Brooks et al. (2001) appear in the CDD and vice versa, Mackenzie River basin (Smirnov and Moore 2001)or suggesting that neither provides a comprehensive listing over Alberta (Milrad et al. 2015). of major floods in Canada. Both sources sometimes list fl While snowmelt- and rainfall-driven oods can occur multiple floods as single events, and some major floods fl across Canada (Figure 1), other particular forms of ood- have been categorized as another hydroclimatic event ing are more geographically restricted. These include type (e.g. the CDD categorized the Hurricane Hazel fl geomorphically generated oods in high-relief areas of flood as a hurricane). The CDD provides little or no western Canada, and storm surges on the Atlantic, Paci- description of some floods, and no indication of informa- fi c and Arctic coasts as well as on major inland water tion sources used to populate the database. This compli- fl bodies such as the Great Lakes. Similarly, ooding asso- cates attribution of the flood mechanism to particular ciated with the overwhelming of storm sewer networks flood events, such as is attempted in Figure 1. Events in is confined to urban areas, while flooding induced by ris- Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 06:56 29 January 2016 the CDD were only considered to 2010 due to the ing groundwater tables may manifest itself in permeable absence of a formal updating process (Lara Deacon, Pub- fl alluvial oodplains along large streams and rivers. lic Safety Canada, pers. comm. 2014) that would have This paper provides an overview of the key processes included floods such as the 2011 Assiniboine River flood fl that generate oods in Canada. An exhaustive review of (Blais, Clark et al.