Vancouver – Ryan Ness of the Canadian Climate Institute says he is following the “terrible tragedy” of the deadly flash flooding in Texas, where more than 100 people have died.
But he is also concerned that Canada is not enough to stop such disasters here, saying that the country needs to invest in flood mapping, infrastructure and early warning systems.
“Fortunately, there are many ways we can protect ourselves, but we have to make efforts,” Ness said, who is the Director of Research for Adaptation in the Policy Research Organization.
“You know, first of all, we have to understand where the risk is.”
He said that there are no flood maps in many parts of Canada, “it is difficult to know where to save the warning or where to send.”
Flood warning systems are also required to help people on the way to flood floods “If they can, prepare or get away,” while the safety of risk areas requires long -term infrastructure upgradation.
“In some cases, this means keeping things in homes such as backflow valves that prevent sewer from back up,” he said.
“Or it may mean that flood walls can be constructed along with flood walls.
Furious flash flash in Texas – the worst in the United States in decades – on Friday slipped into camps and houses on the banks of the Guadalup River. Some of the remaining people were found sticking to trees.
The disaster has focused on both to predict or prevent flash floods with the risk of floods.
Ness warned that climate change is making flash flooding worse and there are no laws to prevent development in dangerous areas in many Canadian cities, provinces and regions.
He increased the risk of “new reality” to flash floods and more severe storms.
Flash floods have been stuck in Canada in the last one year, including coquilam, BC, where an atmospheric river rains killed a teacher in October, and killed a teacher in Toronto, where torrential rains over July overwhelmed drainage and caused nearly $ 990 million in insured damage.
Ness said that in the hilly areas of BC’s interior with rapid water runoff, flash floods can remove people’s homes with “very low warnings”.
He said that flash flooding can be made worse in areas burnt by wildfire, where the soil that is no longer held together from the life of the plant is more likely to turn into a mudslide or a landslide. “
He said that other risk areas are in Alberta, which is characterized by a lot of rock and small exploitative soil in the front boundaries of Rockies.
For example, for example, the city (in Alberta) can flow very quickly when it rains in the city (in Alberta). In 2013, large -scale floods collided in the city.
In Montreal and Toronto, flash flood is usually caused by pucca areas, which contains no soil, which contains heavy rains.
“And water grows very quickly in rivers and streams that pass through areas, and it grows very quickly in sewers, and these people most often return to people’s cellars, and cause floods in the basement,” Ness said.
He said that Toronto has a multibilian-dollar strategy to improve storm sewers. But it takes a long time to find that funding, and the type of required disruptive construction is not an easy fix.
Ness said, “This is another reason to start these investments as soon as possible, as it is going to take some time. But climate change will not wait.”
He said that Canada needs to be adapted very quickly for flash flooding.
“There are many smart engineers and government officials who know what to do, but we need to support and invest in projects to be suited to this new reality. Otherwise, we are not going to be ready.”
– With files from Associated Press
This report of Canadian Press was first published on 8 July 2025.
Nono Shane, Canadian Press