Wednesday 10 May 2017

Flooding in Perth, Ontario

It's a mess in town. The water is slowly receding, but it built back up after the flooding during the spring melt and heavy rains. We've had massive amounts of water. This is from May 9th. 
This is the Tay River. Behind the Crystal Palace it is very wet. The water was creeping up onto the road.

Then, there is the Dry Stone Heritage Bridge. 

Riverside Dr., along to Canal Road was swamped with water.  The problem with our region is that the land is filled with swamps and wetlands. The wetlands are on flood plains. 
Experts have been saying that we must get better at determining where we allow people to build. These 100-year floods will continue. It makes no sense to rebuild homes in these areas. Taxpayers foot the bill in federal disaster assistance. A billion dollars on an annual basis across Canada, 3/4 of this is caused by flooding. 


Flood planning: Why we get it wrong time after time


What do we do wrong about floods? A professor at Western University who specializes in natural disasters was at a loss where to start.
  • outdated flood plain maps
  • too slow a response
  • poor decisions for rebuilds
  • lack of preventative measures, e.g., berms, as they did in Calgary.
Calgary discouraged redevelopment in risky areas after the have tried after the 2013 floods, to reduce the risks. Other things they can do is redo the flood maps, as flooding patterns have changed. 

This is Last Duel Park.





May 16 2017

Christie Lake sees flooding beyond living memory

Perth Courier  0 Comments by Desmond Devoy

10 comments:

DUTA said...

I think the experts are right. Floods will always be there; something has to be done about building policies in order to minimize dangers and damages.
Your photos are great as usual.

Christine said...

Wow, scary times for Ontario and Quebec.

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Did not think you lived round there. You need to see what it's like when the River Thames Floods, serious amounts of water and flooded homes

Cat Lover said...

Yikes Jen, looks Ike you are worse off then we are. Hopefully you are getting a few days rain free like us!
Have a good day!
Robin

Olga said...

Been watching about the flooding on the news. Stay safe.

Anvilcloud said...

I saw some pics of the park online. It would be tempting to go.

Lowcarb team member said...

Here in the UK, we have been hearing about these floods.
It does seem to me that no matter what country you live in these floods do happen and I feel so sorry for those who are affected by them ... and indeed some lose homes and even lives.

Planning and flood defence is key, but alas time and again the 'experts' let us down.
Is there a simple answer? Probably not always, as nature is such a strong force.

Stay Safe
Stay Dry

All the best Jan

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

We've had a lot of rain here as well, with some flooding.

William Kendall said...

The power of nature. It humbles you.

Here in the city the hardest hit areas are around Cumberland and Constance Bay, while on the Gatineau side it's east of the Gatineau River outlet where it's hit badly.

Jeanna said...

You really see it with the drone and some of those photos, wow, what a mess. We've had much rain here as well but just a few flooded areas that I've seen. The Mississippi looks high to me but not flooded, although I took some shots that seem otherwise. I've also come across picnic tables in the water. Stay safe.