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Urban Flood Management and Disaster in Canada: Incidence, Recovery Strategy, and Environmental Resilience

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Urban Flood Management and Disaster in Canada: Incidence, Recovery Strategy, and Environmental Resilience Urban flood management and disaster in Canada: incidence, recovery strategy, and environmental resilience by Cheralyn King-Scobie MRM, Simon Fraser University, 2001 BSc, University of Calgary, 1998 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Planning) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2019 © Cheralyn King-Scobie, 2019 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Urban flood management and disaster in Canada: incidence, recovery strategy and environmental resilience submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements by Cheralyn King-Scobie for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Planning Examining Committee: Stephanie Chang, School of Community and Regional Planning Supervisor Mark Stevens, School of Community and Regional Planning Supervisory Committee Member Michael Church, Department of Geography Supervisory Committee Member Barbara Lence, Department of Civil Engineering University Examiner Maged Senbel, School of Community and Regional Planning University Examiner ii Abstract This dissertation investigates how cities can improve flood management relationships with riverine landscapes. It develops new data, analysis, and tools to address the need for systematic research on floods and flood management at the municipal scale. In Canada, floods remain the most frequent disaster type, and it is municipalities that are responsible for related land-use planning, emergency response, and often, flood management. However, municipal-scale information on flood disasters and flood risk management remains limited. To examine where in Canada flooding is a problem for municipalities, I developed and analyzed two databases: the All Floods Database (n=149), and a more detailed Riverine Floods Database (n=43), on municipal flood disasters from 2001 to 2013. Data were compiled from the Canadian Disaster Database, municipal surveys, staff interviews, and provincial and territorial disaster financial assistance records. According to the database, 15% of Canadian urban municipalities experienced flood disasters, most of which were non- riverine. Among riverine flood disasters, medium-sized population centres experienced disproportionately more events, and Alberta and British Columbia accounted for over half of the total. Next, I considered flood recovery as a window of opportunity for building resilience, focusing on environmental resilience in terms of flood management relationships with riverine landscapes. Are municipalities re-creating pre-flood conditions during recovery, or are they working to improve resilience and build back better? I created a typology of approaches to riverine flood management and applied it to 20 case study municipalities using survey, interview, and document data. Overall, 85% employed a primarily non-structural approach through land-use regulation. Comparing pre- and post-flood approaches, as many as 45% of municipalities modified their approach to improve resilience, and 30% chose a strategy that would in theory improve environmental resilience, particularly after large flood events; however, the majority retained a return to normal approach. Finally, I developed a tool, the Connection Workbook, to provide municipalities with a rigorous yet practical approach to operationalize assessment of environmental resilience. The iii tool was applied to three Alberta municipalities, and the results provided insights for actionable guidance to improve municipal flood management through the lens of riverine connection with the landscape. iv Lay Summary Municipal flood management strategies should be mindful of protecting functioning rivers while protecting cities from floods. However, little is known about how Canadian cities manage floods or recover from a flood disaster. This work develops new data, analysis, and tools to address the need for systematic research on floods and flood management at the municipal scale. Overall, 15% of Canadian urban municipalities experienced flood disasters between 2001 and 2013, most of which were non-riverine. Among riverine flood disasters, medium-sized population centres experienced disproportionately more events, and Alberta and British Columbia accounted for over half of the total. Further, almost half of all municipalities chose resilient recovery strategies, and one third chose resilient recovery strategies that also protect rivers. However, most municipalities retained a return to normal approach to disaster recovery and did not improve resilience. v Preface I completed the entirety of this research, including identification of the literature gaps and corresponding design of the research phases, as well as the implementation of the data collection and analysis. My supervisor (Dr. Stephanie Chang) and committee members (Drs Michael Church and Mark Stevens) offered formative guidance and thoughtful feedback for all phases of the work. The University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board approved this work with certificate H16-02209. vi Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Lay Summary ...................................................................................................................... v Preface ................................................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiv List of Supplementary Materials .................................................................................... xvi List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... xvii Acknowlegements ............................................................................................................ xix Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Background ........................................................................................................... 1 Research objectives ............................................................................................ 10 Research questions.............................................................................................. 11 Significance and structure of the dissertation ..................................................... 11 Background literature and conceptual framework ................................... 15 Literature review ................................................................................................. 15 2.1.1 Overarching risk management and resilience context ................................ 15 2.1.2 Theoretical and operational definitions ...................................................... 16 2.1.2.1 Disaster ................................................................................................... 16 2.1.2.2 Disaster management .............................................................................. 17 2.1.3 Disaster recovery ........................................................................................ 18 2.1.3.1 As a window of opportunity: building back better ................................. 19 2.1.3.2 Through land-use planning ..................................................................... 21 2.1.3.3 Disaster Resilience of Place (DROP) model .......................................... 23 2.1.3.4 Empirical studies .................................................................................... 25 2.1.4 Floods ......................................................................................................... 26 2.1.4.1 Definition and classification of floods .................................................... 26 2.1.4.2 Empirical studies: generating mechanisms of floods and disasters ........ 30 2.1.4.3 Empirical studies: distribution of flood disasters ................................... 30 2.1.4.4 Research needs for municipal flood disaster .......................................... 31 2.1.5 Flood management...................................................................................... 34 vii 2.1.5.1 History of Canadian flood hazard management ..................................... 35 2.1.5.2 Research needs for municipal flood management .................................. 38 2.1.6 Strategies for flood disaster recovery ......................................................... 40 2.1.6.1 Research needs for resilient and environmentally resilient strategies .... 40 Conceptual framework........................................................................................ 44 Research design and methodology ............................................................... 47 Unit of analysis ................................................................................................... 47 Enumerating municipal scale flood disasters ....................................................
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