WunderBlog Archive » Category 6™
Category 6 has moved! See the latest from Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson here.Calgary Flood May be Canada's Most Expensive Flood in History
The massive floods that devastated Calgary, Canada late last week have raced downstream, and are now bringing the highest flood waters ever recorded to Medicine Hat, Alberta's 5th largest city (population 67,000.) The flood peaked early Monday morning in Medicine Hat, which had evacuated 10,000 residents in anticipation of the flood. The homes of nearly all of the residents evacuated have received flood damage, according to CBC News.
Figure 1. A historic flood quenches the Flames: The inside of the Calgary Saddledome, in Calgary, Alberta, home to the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames. The Saddledome was flooded up to the 10th row, leaving the dressing rooms submerged on Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Calgary Flames)
Figure 2. The closed Trans-Canada Highway in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, along Cougar Creek on Friday June 21, 2013. Image credit: The Canadian Press.
Video 1. Ground-level video of the same stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway as shown in the aerial photo above. The rampaging Cougar Creek flows with incredible power.
Costliest flood in Canadian history?
The meteorological set-up for the flood began when the jet stream got "blocked" into a high-amplitude pattern that brought record heat to Alaska, but forced heavy rainfall to fall across the Bow River Basin on Wednesday night, with up to 190 mm (7.51”) falling in some areas over just a 24-hour period. Widespread heavy rains of 50.8 mm (2”) blanketed the entire river basin, sending the Bow River to near-record flood levels. At the peak of the flooding, the Bow and Elbow rivers were flowing through Calgary at three times their peak levels from a 2005 flood that caused $275 million in damage. Calgary, Canada's 5th largest city (population 1.2 million), was forced to evacuate 100,000 people, and the downtown area was submerged by the flood waters. Three people died. Over the weekend, 65,000 people were allowed to return to their homes, but the city remains under a state of emergency. The Calgary flood will be one of the most damaging floods in Canadian history. While it is too early to come up with a reliable figure for the damages, insurance industry experts said on Friday that the Calgary floods could cost $500 - $800 million--two to three times the cost of the city's 2005 floods. The June 2013 Alberta flood has the potential become the most expensive flood in Canadian history, exceeding the $800 million price tag of the April 4, 2011 flood in Southern Manitoba, along the Assiniboine River and Lake Manitoba.
Figure 3. The top ten most expensive natural disasters in Canadian history (not adjusted for inflation.) The most expensive flood in Canadian history occurred in April 2011, when flooding on the Assiniboine River and on Lake Manitoba caused $800 million in damage. Water levels rose so high in Lake Manitoba that some beach front homes ended up three km into the lake. Image credit: EM-DAT.
Wunderblogger Christopher C. Burt has a look at the disaster in his Friday post.
Jeff Masters
Figure 1. A historic flood quenches the Flames: The inside of the Calgary Saddledome, in Calgary, Alberta, home to the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames. The Saddledome was flooded up to the 10th row, leaving the dressing rooms submerged on Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Calgary Flames)
Figure 2. The closed Trans-Canada Highway in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, along Cougar Creek on Friday June 21, 2013. Image credit: The Canadian Press.
Video 1. Ground-level video of the same stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway as shown in the aerial photo above. The rampaging Cougar Creek flows with incredible power.
Costliest flood in Canadian history?
The meteorological set-up for the flood began when the jet stream got "blocked" into a high-amplitude pattern that brought record heat to Alaska, but forced heavy rainfall to fall across the Bow River Basin on Wednesday night, with up to 190 mm (7.51”) falling in some areas over just a 24-hour period. Widespread heavy rains of 50.8 mm (2”) blanketed the entire river basin, sending the Bow River to near-record flood levels. At the peak of the flooding, the Bow and Elbow rivers were flowing through Calgary at three times their peak levels from a 2005 flood that caused $275 million in damage. Calgary, Canada's 5th largest city (population 1.2 million), was forced to evacuate 100,000 people, and the downtown area was submerged by the flood waters. Three people died. Over the weekend, 65,000 people were allowed to return to their homes, but the city remains under a state of emergency. The Calgary flood will be one of the most damaging floods in Canadian history. While it is too early to come up with a reliable figure for the damages, insurance industry experts said on Friday that the Calgary floods could cost $500 - $800 million--two to three times the cost of the city's 2005 floods. The June 2013 Alberta flood has the potential become the most expensive flood in Canadian history, exceeding the $800 million price tag of the April 4, 2011 flood in Southern Manitoba, along the Assiniboine River and Lake Manitoba.
Figure 3. The top ten most expensive natural disasters in Canadian history (not adjusted for inflation.) The most expensive flood in Canadian history occurred in April 2011, when flooding on the Assiniboine River and on Lake Manitoba caused $800 million in damage. Water levels rose so high in Lake Manitoba that some beach front homes ended up three km into the lake. Image credit: EM-DAT.
Wunderblogger Christopher C. Burt has a look at the disaster in his Friday post.
Jeff Masters
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