Alberta, Canada: Recovering from a flooding disaster

So many disasters occur across the world that often we are unaware of their occurrence. However thousands of people may be affected and it is often hard to understand the extent of the damage with no personal connection to the area. This summer there was severe flooding in the Province of Alberta in Canada where I visited on holiday. Alberta is an area located in the beautiful Canadian Rockies, home to many National Parks. These parks are visited by 8.5 million people each year to witness their spectacular beauty and take part in activities such as skiing, hiking and canoeing along the rivers and lakes. I visited Cougar Creek in the old mining town of Canmore in early July. I saw so much flooding, that I was able to compare flood stories to the damage that I saw.

The flooding occurred as a result of extremely heavy and constant rainfall accompanied by the ice melt flowing down from the mountains. Rivers are also constantly trying to take the easiest path to their base level (lowest level determined by the sea). In a time of extreme rainfall like that experienced in Canmore, debris that is being picked up and transported by the river such as trees, begins to build up. This can gradually create a natural structure similar to a dam, building up the land to a steeper height and blocking the natural flow of the river. This causes the river to flow at a lower base level. In Canmore this occurred in many places which meant the small tributaries leading to Cougar Creek began to flow through housing such as those in Eagle Heights. Another reason that this river causes so much potential for danger is that Cougar Creek is located in an alluvial fan (figure 1). This means the river has the capability to change direction suddenly (avulse) which could mean it would flow through housing instead of down its usual route.

When Cougar Creek spilled its banks, it battered the residential areas bordering them for 48 hours; tearing out sewer lines, water mains and a gas line, carrying tonnes of debris to the Trans-Canada Highway it flows beneath. A health advisory was issued for residents of Alberta, warning them to boil all water before using it. Furthermore flooding in Canmore General Hospital meant it was restricted. Due to the flow of the Creek across the highway, Canmore was cut off from the rest of Alberta for 2 days. 75 military personnel assisted local councils to clean up the town.

Teams worked to return the flowing waters to their normal channel and create temporary roads to allow residents access to the main town centre. 45 homes have been left uninhabitable other damage costs are well into the tens-of-millions of dollars. Homes were not covered by insurance so many were left homeless.

With the huge risk of the river avulsing (switching the path of its natural flow), it is interesting to see what the government decides to do to prevent such damage occurring again. Some argue that homes should never have been built on an area that is naturally prone to such disasters (especially in an area of dense forest higher up that will bring down even more debris). There is a river in the centre of the town and the government believed that its floodplain would pose more of a threat than the alluvial fan. Others say that returning the creek to its normal flow would not reduce flooding. Despite this, as figure 2 shows, (aerial view of the area), there are few other options. We will simply have to hope that this kind of disaster does not occur again.