Urban Flooding in Vancouver, Canada

Arun Pallathadka

doi:10.55544/ijrah.3.2.11

Authors

Arun Pallathadka Independent Researcher, Automated Research for Urban Neighborhoods Lab, Portland, OR, USA.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55544/ijrah.3.2.11

Keywords:

urban flooding, flood types, flood causes, flood strategies, Vancouver, British Columbia

Abstract

Flooding can have devastating, long-lasting, and costly consequences, including the loss of life and displacement of communities. This review report summarizes the background, causes, and management practices of various urban flooding forms and mitigation efforts in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) which is located on the Western part on the Pacific coast of Canada. The report makes use of existing literature to understand the flooding phenomena in Vancouver. The city is unique from a flood planning or management perspective because the city is vulnerable to every type of major flooding event, including pluvial, fluvial, and coastal flooding. Nevertheless, Vancouver is considered a globally sustainable city. As such, this report reviews various articles and research to determine the background and causes of various forms of floods experienced in Vancouver and the management practices put in place to mitigate flooding in the city. The study identifies measures in place to address every type of flooding event.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

BC Housing. (2019). Construction standards & guidelines for renovating Affordable Housing. Construction Standards & Guidelines for Renovating Affordable Housing | BC Housing. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.bchousing.org/projects-partners/asset-management-redevelopment/construction-standards

Chang, S. E., Yip, J. Z., Conger, T., Oulahen, G., Gray, E., & Marteleira, M. (2020). Explaining communities' adaptation strategies for coastal flood risk: Vulnerability and institutional factors. Journal of Flood Risk Management, e12646.

Elliot, G. R. F., Bowering, R., & FRITH, M. (1949). Public Health Services in British Columbia during the Floods of 1948. Canadian Journal of Public Health/Revue Canadienne de Sante'e Publique, 40(9), 371-381.

Falconer, R. H., Cobby, D., Smyth, P., Astle, G., Dent, J., & Golding, B. (2009). Pluvial flooding: new approaches in flood warning, mapping and risk management. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 2(3), 198-208.

Hallegatte, S., Green, C., Nicholls, R. J., & Corfee-Morlot, J. (2013). Future flood losses in major coastal cities. Nature climate change, 3(9), 802-806.

Helaire, L. T., Talke, S. A., Jay, D. A., & Chang, H. (2020). Present and Future Flood Hazard in the Lower Columbia River Estuary: Changing Flood Hazards in the Portland‐Vancouver Metropolitan Area. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125(7), e2019JC015928.

Jakob, M., & Church, M. (2011). The trouble with floods. Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques, 36(4), 287-292.

Jakob, M., Holm, K., Lazarte, E., & Church, M. (2015). A flood risk assessment for the City of Chilliwack on the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. International Journal of River Basin Management, 13(3), 263-270.

Jongman, B., Ward, P. J., & Aerts, J. C. (2012). Global exposure to river and coastal flooding: Long term trends and changes. Global Environmental Change, 22(4), 823-835.

Lyle, T. S., & Mills, T. (2014). The Value of a Coastal Flood Risk Assessment for the City of Vancouver in a Changing Climate. In 6th International Conference on Flood Management.

Lyle, T. S., & Mills, T. (2016). Assessing coastal flood risk in a changing climate for the City of Vancouver. Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques, 41(1-2), 343-352.

Macdonald, D., Dixon, A., Newell, A., & Hallaways, A. (2012). Groundwater flooding within an urbanised flood plain. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 5(1), 68-80.

O'Donnell, E. C., Thorne, C. R., & Yeakley, J. A. (2018). Managing urban flood risk in Blue- reen Cities; the Clean Water for All initiative. UMBC Geography and Environmental Systems Department Collection.

Oliver-Smith, A. (2009). Sea level rise and the vulnerability of coastal peoples: responding to the local challenges of global climate change in the 21st century. UNU-EHS.

Osler, M., & Demsar, T. (2020). Engineering Meets Public Participation on the Coast in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. In Coastal Management 2019: Joining forces to shape our future coasts (pp. 169-181). ICE Publishing.

Owrangi, A. M., Lannigan, R., & Simonovic, S. P. (2014). Interaction between land-use change, flooding and human health in Metro Vancouver, Canada. Natural hazards, 72(2), 1219-1230.

Pallathadka, A. K., Chang, H., & Ajibade, I. (2021). The spatial patterns of Pluvial flood risk, blue-green infrastructure, and social vulnerability: A case study from two Alaskan Cities. International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research, 8(3), 2. https://dc.uwm.edu/ijger/vol8/iss3/2

Pallathadka, A., Sauer, J., Chang, H., & Grimm, N. B. (2022). Urban flood risk and green infrastructure: Who is exposed to risk and who benefits from investment? A case study of three US Cities. Landscape and Urban Planning, 223, 104417.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104417

Raikes, J., & McBean, G. (2017). Institutional response to disaster risk: the City of Vancouver and District of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Regional Environmental Change, 17(8), 2433-2441.

Sandink, D. (2016). Urban flooding and ground‐related homes in Canada: an overview. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 9(3), 208-223.

Sarmiento, J. P., Hoberman, G., Ilcheva, M., Asgary, A., Majano, A. M., Poggione, S., & Duran, L. R. (2015). Private sector and disaster risk reduction: The cases of Bogota, Miami, Kingston, San Jose, Santiago, and Vancouver. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 14, 225-237.

Thistlethwaite, J., & Henstra, D. (2017). Municipal flood risk sharing in Canada: A policy instrument analysis. Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue Canadienne Des Ressources Hydriques, 42(4), 349-363.

Vitousek, S., Barnard, P. L., Fletcher, C. H., Frazer, N., Erikson, L., & Storlazzi, C. D. (2017). Doubling of coastal flooding frequency within decades due to sea-level rise. Scientific reports, 7(1), 1-9.

Yumagulova, L., & Vertinsky, I. (2019). Moving beyond engineering supremacy: Knowledge systems for urban resilience in Canada’s Metro Vancouver region. Environmental Science & Policy, 100, 66-73.