Alberta’s 2005 flood season reviewed

Alberta experienced one of the worst flood seasons on record in the summer of 2005 due to severe weather conditions, according to the Government of Alberta.These unprecedented conditions which saw rainfall ranging from between 50 and 100 mm to more than 400 mm, influenced the Governments decision to create the Southern Alberta Disaster Recovery Program, which provides coverage for damages that are not readily or reasonably available through traditional insurance. The Government of Alberta reported that as a result of 2005’s severe rain and flooding, last year’s recovery program for Southern Alberta received a total of 12,126 applications 2,879 of these applications are considered ineligible. Of these applications about 86% were residential while only 7% were commercial and 6% agricultural (less than 1% were municipal and first nations claims combined).To date, CD$73.1 million has been paid, with an estimated total program cost of CD$162.7 million once final municipal infrastructure and emergency operations costs are received. In attempts to mitigate flood damage in the future a Ministerial Task Force convened to examine the impact of flooding in southern and central Alberta. As part of this, George Groeneveld, MLA for Highwood, is leading a Flood Risk Management Committee made up of representatives from the three ministries. In consultation with the 70 municipalities most directly affected, the committee is examining measures such as: expanded flood risk assessment to gain better information for flood forecasting, mitigation and emergency response, flood mitigation works, and adopting measures that curtail development in flood-prone areas.