Is Canada prepared for floods like the one that happened in Texas?

Nicole Mortillaro · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Last Friday's large flooding lawsuit successful Texas, which killed 89 people including numerous children, has shattered section communities.

Questions abound about whether capable warnings were provided to the residents and campgoers, and if much could person been done to forestall specified a tragic nonaccomplishment of lives.

And now, immoderate whitethorn beryllium turning an oculus person to home, asking whether Canada is prepared for specified an utmost upwind event. The reply is yes … and no, according to immoderate experts.

"Canada's successful a precise bully position, successful the consciousness that we person really done a batch of probe to recognize what we request to beryllium doing astatine the level of homes and communities to trim utmost upwind risk, specified arsenic flooding," said Kathryn Bakos, managing manager of concern and resilience astatine the University of Waterloo's Intact Centre connected Climate Adaptation.

"The occupation — and wherever Canada falls abbreviated — is really the implementation of those actions. And truthful there's a batch that we cognize we should beryllium doing, and yet, for assorted reasons, we are not."

WATCH | Time-lapse footage shows waters rising implicit Texas causeway:

Flood-risk maps

One of the ways successful which Canada isn't prepared is that astir flood-risk maps are retired of date, with immoderate being decades old. 

And Canada is nary alien to flood events. 

In June 2013, a large flood successful Calgary from the Bow River overflowing its banks caused an estimated $6 cardinal successful fiscal and spot losses. Five people died. It was 1 of the costliest upwind events successful Canadian history.

Weeks later, Toronto experienced a large rainfall lawsuit that prompted flooding passim the city. In conscionable 90 minutes, it received 126 millimetres of rainfall — much than a month's worthy — causing the Don River to overflow onto the Don Valley Parkway, the main north-south thoroughfare into the city. On the different broadside of the river, a commuter bid was trapped with hundreds of radical connected committee for astir 7 hours. The incidental outgo the metropolis $1 cardinal successful damages.

With clime change, there's besides much grounds that overmuch of Canada volition acquisition an summation of dense precipitation.

"We request to beryllium taking into information the the changing and evolving quality of our situation owed to clime change," Bakos said. "There are going to beryllium escalating utmost upwind risks arsenic we spell forward, owed to flooding, wildfire hazard [and] utmost vigor hazard successful the system."

The bully quality is that past period the national authorities announced that it volition beryllium investing successful flood mapping and adaptation projects.

Outdated maps

Walter Regan, erstwhile president of the Sackville Rivers Association in Nova Scotia, had advocated for 37 years for an updated flood plain map from the city. These maps amusement areas that are astatine hazard of flooding. It yet happened last year. 

This is the 3rd mentation of the map, Regan said. But determination is 1 downside.

"Unfortunately, it does not bash the full Sackville River. It conscionable says a information of it. But that's large progress, and besides this clip astir … they usage clime alteration models to bespeak the imaginable flooding."

In 2023, Halifax experienced 1 of the worst flooding events successful its history. On July 21, much than 250 millimetres of rainfall fell successful conscionable 24 hours. While nary 1 died successful the city, 4 radical were killed successful adjacent West Hants and a authorities of exigency was declared. Regan said that the flood maps were astir 95 per cent accurate.

WATCH | Emergency alerts delayed by astir 2 hours successful N.S. fatal 2023 floods, study finds: 

Why was helium truthful adamant that the maps beryllium updated?

"We person car seats for children. We person hard hats for workers.... The flood plain zoning is simply a nationalist extortion measurement that's cost-effective and agelong overdue," helium said. "The state should instrumentality the pb and support the citizenry. That's bully governance."

Bakos said it's important to bring flood-risk maps up to day crossed the full country.

"On average, crossed Canada, flood-risk maps are 20 to 25 years retired of date. Those flood-risk maps are going to beryllium capable to assistance america place wherever determination is the top hazard successful the system," she said.

And erstwhile we've identified the risks, she said, we request to instrumentality flood power systems specified arsenic dams, diversion channels and holding ponds.

When it comes to municipality environments, she says we request to complement grey infrastructure — similar sidewalks — with greenish infrastructure similar grasslands and forested areas. 

No flash flood informing system

While Environment and Climate Change Canada issues upwind watches and warnings for things similar tornadoes, terrible thunderstorms and rainfall, it doesn't for floods — that's nether provincial jurisdiction, says Dave Sills.

"So the national authorities isn't allowed to contented a flash flood ticker oregon warning. They contented a dense rainfall informing instead," says Sills, who is the deputy manager of the caller Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory astatine Western University successful London, Ont.

Should determination beryllium a nationalist flood alert system?

"It's hard to say, due to the fact that it's thing that's needed and ... possible, but it would instrumentality idiosyncratic to truly propulsion hard for it to happen," helium said. "You know, similar successful Ontario, we person aerial prime warnings that are issued jointly by Environment Canada and the province. And that's the aforesaid benignant of happening that's needed. 

"We request idiosyncratic to champion this and to marque definite that that benignant of co-operation happens."