Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Government figures have shown that water-related events – including flooding – have surpassed forest fires as the top cause of property damage in Canada in the past several years, costing homeowners more than $1 billion in losses annually. Despite the threat, a recent study has revealed that an overwhelming majority of Canadians living in high-risk regions are not only unprepared to deal with the impact of floods, but they are also unaware of the potential danger.
Spring may be just around the corner in Saskatchewan. Daytime temperatures above freezing this week are a welcome relief from what has been a long, cold winter. Temperatures in Regina are forecast to hit 8 C by the end of the week, while Saskatoon will see highs of 6 C, Swift Current could hit double digits and even Uranium City will reach a high of –1 C.
Only four per cent of Quebecers have taken steps to protect their homes from climate risks such as flooding, compared to 11 per cent of Canadians, according to a survey commissioned by the federal government. With the spring thaw and the risk of flooding approaching, Public Safety Canada is launching a campaign to raise awareness of weather-related disasters. To do so, the department commissioned Ipsos to conduct an online survey of Canadians aged 25 to 55.
New Brunswickers can now zoom in to a visual image of their homes, neighbourhoods and communities to see how likely it is that climate change will create a risk of flooding over the next several decades. The provincial government has released a new interactive provincial flood map showing different river and coastal flooding scenarios for today and for 2100.
In stormy weather, Jerome Kerivan finds himself wondering how much more pressure his eight-year-old home can take. “The last two to four years, there’s a lot more spray coming in over the breakwater that strikes the house,” he said of his sea-facing home near the Placentia lift bridge. “I get concerned. … What’s going to happen? The biggest concerns I have are the shingles and everything on the house.” The storms are more frequent and the winds are a lot stronger, said Kerivan, a retired fisherman. Like many other residents, Kerivan credits a seawall built decades ago following severe flooding in the 1980s with keeping Placentia — much of which is below sea level — protected from potentially devastating flooding.
Due to climate change, rising sea levels combined with high tidal cycles and storm surges have led to an increased risk of flooding. To combat this, Moncton partnered with the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance to implement rain gardens throughout the city. Rain gardens not only help remove pollutants from stormwater but also help increase stormwater capacity and reduce the overall flood risk. These kinds of solutions are extremely beneficial for Atlantic Canada where the risk of flooding is higher than the rest of the country.
