Jason Thistlethwaite, PhD is available to speak about the flooding situation in Alberta
Jason Thistlethwaite, PhD is available to speak about the flooding situation in Alberta.
Less than 24 hours of extreme rainfall in the Bow River Basin has led to an unprecedented and historic flooding event in southern Alberta. This flood is much worse than a similar flood event that occurred in 2005, which at the time was considered a 1-in-100-years flood event.
Jason Thistlethwaite is a postdoctoral researcher in climate change risk in the Department of Environment and Resource Studies at Waterloo. He is also the director of the Climate Change Adaptation Project, the report of which partly deals with flooding.
"This flood could easily become one of Canada's most costly natural disasters given the significant assets, population and infrastructure in its path, such as the Calgary downtown. Canada as a whole has been fortunate to avoid significant natural disasters in populated areas. The Southern Alberta flood appears to have ended this lucky trend," said Thistlethwaite. "The flooding is so significant because this rain fell consistently in large amounts across a wide area that drains into one river. The same phenomena, albeit at a much smaller scale, occurs when heavy rain hits your roof and is channeled into downspouts and onto the street."
