Preface to the Special Issue on Floods in Canada

Abstract

Floods are widely recognized as a common and largely distributed natural hazard with potential for causing loss of life, property damage, disruption of the economy and environmental damages. All geographic regions of Canada are susceptible to the deleterious impacts of floods. Recent flood events in Canada and elsewhere have contributed to the common perception that floods and associated damages have been increasing in recent years. Given the ubiquitous nature of this hazard, a thorough examination of the many complex and interrelated aspects of natural and man-made floods in Canada is long overdue. This special issue contains 27 papers dealing with a variety of different aspects of floods in Canada. The first 16 papers deal with physical aspects of floods and include a collection of case study papers that present recent flood events in Canada, following a common format to allow readers to compare and contrast recent flood events in different regions of Canada. The last 11 papers focus on ecological, social and management aspects of floods. The papers included in this special issue present topical information on flooding and also challenge common perceptions of floods and flood processes in Canada.