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The communication of information about natural hazard risks to the public is a difficult task for decision makers. Research suggests that newer forms of technology present useful options for building disaster resilience. However, how effectively these newer forms of media can be used to inform populations of the potential hazard risks in their community remains unclear. This research uses primary data from an in-person survey of 164 residents of Newport Beach, California during the spring of 2014 to ascertain the current and preferred mechanisms through which individuals receive information on flood risks in their community. Factor analysis of survey data identified two predominant routes of dissemination for risk information: older traditional media and newer social media sources. A logistic regression model was specified to identify predictors for choosing a particular communication route. This analysis revealed that age is the central factor in predicting the sources people use to receive risk information. We follow the analysis by discussing this finding and its policy implications.

The moisture maximization approach to estimate the Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) has a simple technique for controlling the risk of overestimating PMP: the maximization ratio is limited by an upper bound. The upper bound limit depends on storm records and watershed characteristics. However, it is not readily available in many watersheds. A robust scientific justification for limiting the maximization ratio is missing. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to estimate the maximization ratio which does not impose an upper limit to the ratio. The new approach, which uses regional climate model data, is based on constructing annual maximum precipitable water time series with precipitable water values for which atmospheric variables are similar to the original event to be maximized. These time series are then used to estimate the 100-year return period precipitable water value required to calculate the maximization ratio. The new approach was tested in three watersheds in the province of Quebec, Canada. Results showed that maximization ratio values were lower than the proposed upper bound value for these watersheds. In comparison to the approach using an upper bound, this proposed approach reduced PMP in these watersheds by 11%. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Abstract In northern regions, river ice‐ jam flooding can be more severe than open‐water flooding causing property and infrastructure damages, loss of human life and adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Very little has been performed to assess the risk induced by ice‐related floods because most risk assessments are limited to open‐water floods. The specific objective of this study is to incorporate ice‐jam numerical modelling tools (e.g. RIVICE, Monte‐Carlo simulation) into flood hazard and risk assessment along the Peace River at the Town of Peace River (TPR) in Alberta, Canada. Adequate historical data for different ice‐jam and open‐water flooding events were available for this study site and were useful in developing ice‐affected stage‐frequency curves. These curves were then applied to calibrate a numerical hydraulic model, which simulated different ice jams and flood scenarios along the Peace River at the TPR. A Monte‐Carlo analysis was then carried out to acquire an ensemble of water level profiles to determine the 1 : 100‐year and 1 : 200‐year annual exceedance probability flood stages for the TPR. These flood stages were then used to map flood hazard and vulnerability of the TPR. Finally, the flood risk for a 200‐year return period was calculated to be an average of $32/m 2 /a ($/m 2 /a corresponds to a unit of annual expected damages or risk). Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In gravelly floodplains, streamflood events induce groundwater floodwaves that propagate through the alluvial aquifer. Understanding groundwater floodwave dynamics can contribute to groundwater flood risk management. This study documents groundwater floodwaves on a flood event basis to fully assess environmental factors that control their propagation velocity, their amplitude and their extension in the floodplain, and examines the expression of groundwater flooding in the Matane River floodplain (Quebec, Canada). An array of 15 piezometers equipped with automated level sensors and a river stage gauge monitoring at 15-minute intervals from September 2011 to September 2014 were installed within a 0.04-km2 area of the floodplain. Cross-correlation analyses were performed between piezometric and river-level time series for 54 flood events. The results reveal that groundwater floodwave propagation occurs at all flood magnitudes. The smaller floods produced a clear groundwater floodwave through the floodplain, while the largest floods affected local groundwater flow orientation by generating an inversion of the hydraulic gradient. Propagation velocities ranging from 8 to 13 m/h, which are two to three orders of magnitude higher than groundwater velocity, were documented while the induced pulse propagated across the floodplain to more than 230 m from the channel. Propagation velocity and amplitude attenuation of the groundwater floodwaves depend both on flood event characteristics and the aquifer characteristics. Groundwater flooding events are documented at discharge below bankfull (< 0.5 Qbf). This study highlights the role of flood event hydrographs and environmental variables on groundwater floodwave properties and the complex relationship between flood event discharge and groundwater flooding. The role that groundwater floodwaves play in flood mapping and the ability of analytical solutions to reproduce them are also discussed.

We analyzed annual peak flow series from 127 naturally flowing or naturalized streamflow gauges across western Canada to examine the impact of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on annual flood risk, which has been previously unexamined in detail. Using Spearman's rank correlation ρ and permutation tests on quantile-quantile plots, we show that higher magnitude floods are more likely during the negative phase of the PDO than during the positive phase (shown at 38% of the stations by Spearman's rank correlations and at 51% of the stations according to the permutation tests). Flood frequency analysis (FFA) stratified according to PDO phase suggests that higher magnitude floods may also occur more frequently during the negative PDO phase than during the positive phase. Our results hold throughout much of this region, with the upper Fraser River Basin, the Columbia River Basin, and the North Saskatchewan River Basin particularly subject to this effect. Our results add to other researchers' work questioning the wholesale validity of the key assumption in FFA that the annual peak flow series at a site is independently and identically distributed. Hence, knowledge of large-scale climate state should be considered prior to the design and construction of infrastructure.

Among natural-disaster risks, heat waves are responsible for a large number of deaths, diseases and economic losses around the world. As they will increase in severity, duration and frequency over the decades to come within the context of climate change, these extreme events constitute a genuine danger to human health, and heat-warning systems are strongly recommended by public health authorities to reduce this risk of diseases and of excessive mortality and morbidity. Thus, evidence-based public alerting criteria are needed to reduce impacts on human health before and during persistent hot weather conditions. The goal of this guide is to identify alert thresholds for heat waves in Canada based on evidence, and to propose an approach for better defining heat waves in the Canadian context in order to reduce the risks to human health and contribute to the well-being of Canadians. This guide is the result of the collaboration among various research and public institutions working on: 1) meteorological and climate aspects, i.e. the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC, Environment and Climate Change Canada), and the ESCER centre at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal, and 2) public health, i.e. Health Canada and the Institut National de Sante Publique du Quebec.

In Canada, flood analysis and water resource management, in general, are tasks conducted at the provincial level; therefore, unified national-scale approaches to water-related problems are uncommon. In this study, a national-scale flood risk assessment approach is proposed and developed. The study focuses on using global and national datasets available with various resolutions to create flood risk maps. First, a flood hazard map of Canada is developed using topography-based parameters derived from digital elevation models, namely, elevation above nearest drainage (EAND) and distance from nearest drainage (DFND). This flood hazard mapping method is tested on a smaller area around the city of Calgary, Alberta, against a flood inundation map produced by the city using hydraulic modelling. Second, a flood exposure map of Canada is developed using a land-use map and the satellite-based nightlight luminosity data as two exposure parameters. Third, an economic flood risk map is produced, and subsequently overlaid with population density information to produce a socioeconomic flood risk map for Canada. All three maps of hazard, exposure, and risk are classified into five classes, ranging from very low to severe. A simple way to include flood protection measures in hazard estimation is also demonstrated using the example of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. This could be done for the entire country if information on flood protection across Canada were available. The evaluation of the flood hazard map shows that the topography-based method adopted in this study is both practical and reliable for large-scale analysis. Sensitivity analysis regarding the resolution of the digital elevation model is needed to identify the resolution that is fine enough for reliable hazard mapping, but coarse enough for computational tractability. The nightlight data are found to be useful for exposure and risk mapping in Canada; however, uncertainty analysis should be conducted to investigate the effect of the overglow phenomenon on flood risk mapping.

The impacts of flooding are expected to rise due to population increases, economic growth and climate change. Hence, understanding the physical and spatiotemporal characteristics of risk drivers (hazard, exposure and vulnerability) is required to develop effective flood mitigation measures. Here, the long-term trend in flood vulnerability was analysed globally, calculated from the ratio of the reported flood loss or damage to the modelled flood exposure using a global river and inundation model. A previous study showed decreasing global flood vulnerability over a shorter period using different disaster data. The long-term analysis demonstrated for the first time that flood vulnerability to economic losses in upper-middle, lower-middle and low-income countries shows an inverted U-shape, as a result of the balance between economic growth and various historical socioeconomic efforts to reduce damage, leading to non-significant upward or downward trends. We also show that the flood-exposed population is affected by historical changes in population distribution, with changes in flood vulnerability of up to 48.9%. Both increasing and decreasing trends in flood vulnerability were observed in different countries, implying that population growth scenarios considering spatial distribution changes could affect flood risk projections.

Although numerous studies have been conducted on the vulnerability of marginalized groups in the environmental justice (EJ) and hazards fields, analysts have tended to lump people together in broad racial/ethnic categories without regard for substantial within-group heterogeneity. This paper addresses that limitation by examining whether Hispanic immigrants are disproportionately exposed to risks from flood hazards relative to other racial/ethnic groups (including US-born Hispanics), adjusting for relevant covariates. Survey data were collected for 1283 adult householders in the Houston and Miami Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and flood risk was estimated using their residential presence/absence within federally-designated 100-year flood zones. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with binary logistic specifications that adjust for county-level clustering were used to analyze (separately) and compare the Houston (N = 546) and Miami (N = 560) MSAs in order to clarify determinants of household exposure to flood risk. GEE results in Houston indicate that Hispanic immigrants have the greatest likelihood, and non-Hispanic Whites the least likelihood, of residing in a 100-year flood zone. Miami GEE results contrastingly reveal that non-Hispanic Whites have a significantly greater likelihood of residing in a flood zone when compared to Hispanic immigrants. These divergent results suggest that human-flood hazard relationships have been structured differently between the two MSAs, possibly due to the contrasting role that water-based amenities have played in urbanization within the two study areas. Future EJ research and practice should differentiate between Hispanic subgroups based on nativity status and attend to contextual factors influencing environmental risk disparities.

INTRODUCTION A substantial body of research has focused on the vulnerability of racial/ethnic minorities to hazards and disasters. This work has lumped people with diverse characteristics into general groups, such as "Hispanic" or "Latino/a" (Bolin 2007). Today, Hispanic immigrants represent an important group in U.S. society due to their large and increasing population. According to American Community Survey estimates, as of 2013 there were 21 million foreign-born Hispanics in the U.S., representing 52.5 percent of the total foreign-born population and 6 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanic immigrants are distinguishable from U.S.--born Hispanics due to their concerns about immigration status as well as cultural and linguistic differences. Treating Hispanics as a homogenous group may mask important differences between foreign-born and U.S.--born Hispanics and lead to erroneous conclusions about their disaster vulnerabilities. In order to address the particular risks experienced by foreign-born Hispanics in the U.S., more research characterizing salient dimensions of their vulnerability to hazards and disasters is needed. This study highlights particular vulnerabilities of foreign-born Hispanics living at risk to flooding and hurricanes in the Houston, Texas, and Miami, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) by examining their self-protective actions, and their perceptions of and knowledge about flood risks, in comparison to both U.S.--born non-Hispanic whites and U.S.--born Hispanics. It addresses two research questions: what differences exist in self-protective actions and perceptions of risk between Hispanic immigrants, U.S.--born Hispanics, and U.S.--born white residents who live at high risk to flooding and hurricanes; and why do differences in self-protective actions and perceptions of risk exist between Hispanic immigrants, U.S.--born Hispanics, and U.S.--born white residents who live at high risk to flooding and hurricanes? Approaching these questions, we analyze primary structured survey and semistructured interview data using a mixed-method analysis approach, which enables us to clarify particular factors that place Hispanic immigrants at increased risk to flood and hurricane disasters. LITERATURE REVIEW The last three decades have marked the emergence of a social-vulnerability perspective on hazards and disasters, which emphasizes the influence of inequalities on differential risks (Hewitt 1983, 1997; Peacock and others 1997; Wisner and others 2004; Tierney 2006; Thomas and others 2013). From this perspective, risk is determined partly by human exposure to a hazard and partly by people's social vulnerability. While there is debate about the meaning and measurement of social vulnerability, the following definition is useful: "the characteristics of a person or group and their situation that influence their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural hazard" (Wisner and others 2004, 11). In this study, we analyze the social vulnerability of Hispanic immigrants in terms of self-protection from flood/hurricane hazards, and perceptions of and knowledge about flood/hurricane risks. Here, self-protection is defined as any structural or nonstructural strategy used by households to minimize loss and enable recovery from the impacts of flood or hurricane hazard exposures (NRC 2006). Self-protection strategies in the context of flood and hurricane hazards include home structural as well as nonstructural actions. Structural mitigation actions include elevating home structures, flood-proofing homes, and installing hurricane shutters (FEMA 2014). They also include nonstructural actions, such as maintaining flood insurance. In terms of nonstructural self-protection strategies, in the U.S., flood insurance plays an important protective role, since it provides compensation for property losses. Disaster preparedness is another dimension of nonstructural self-protection that has been examined extensively (Mulilis and Lippa 1990; Faupel and others 1992; Norris and others 1999; Sattler and others 2000; Miceli and others 2008; Borque and others 2013), and can include evacuation planning, maintaining basic supplies (for example, a first aid kit) and being alert (for example, being attentive to hazard reports). …

Abstract The database of the Quebec Ministry of Transport allowed us to analyze the occurrence of ice-block falls and snow avalanches for the past decades along national road 132. The results show that ice structure collapse may be categorized into three distinct phases by using daily temperatures (minimum, maximum, and average) and the cumulative degree day (temperatures above 0°C) since the March 1 st , corresponding to the beginning of the ice wall melting period: 1) a short and intense period of ice-block falls from the mid-April to the beginning of May; 2) a period of constant activity, mainly during the two first weeks of May; and 3) isolated residual activity, with a low frequency of ice-block falls until the month of June. The snow avalanche days were mainly characterized by significant snowfalls or rain-on-snow events with temperature>0°C. The multi-hazard probability was then evaluated based on the timing and relative frequency of ice-block fall and the modeling of sufficient snowpack for avalanching. This simple method to assess the synergistic effect of hillslope processes allows a better understanding of the spring avalanche regime related to the collapse of ice structures. These findings are expected to assist in the management of natural hazards and to improve our knowledge of spatiotemporal dynamics of mass-wasting events on highways.