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IB DOWN TO EARTH § JEREMY GRIMALDI "ARE WE SAFE FROM THE 100-YEAR STORM? 2 igrimaldi@yrmg.com waterloochronicle.ca Waterloo Chronicle | Thursday The last gargantuan Hazel, which took place in October 1954. That storm was so big it flooded Highw: much as 10 feet of water at ter more than 250 mm of rain fell in ess than 24 hours. It was so bad that one former resident of York Re- gion's Hollan: says he actualy watched his ome float down the river, neon ina to Don Good- year, general manager of integrated watershed man- agement at Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Au- thority. Luckily for Ontarians, this was the storm that the province used to map flood lains and identify local flood vulnerable areas. “EARTH WHY IS IT LUCKY? That's because, accord. ing to Goodyear, Hazel more like a 500-year storm, much larger than the much smaller 100-year storm models often used around the world. WHAT IS A 100-YEAR STORM \CTLY? EXA It's hard to precisely de- fine other than to say it's so large there is a 1 per cent chance of it happening ev- ery year. "It's just a really big storm that happens very rarely," he said, exp] that a 100-year storm is the Toronto Telegram in 1954, equivalent of 115 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. "If you look at avery long-term set fall records, you would see a storm that big happens about every 100 ei It involves rivers flooding over its banks, sig- Russ Cooper nificant runoff on roads, streets and parking lots." In short, it's the defini- tion of a storm that's so big it's only likely to happen once every 100 years. The problem with the 100-year storm model Russ Cooper/T foronto Telegram photo the aftermath of Hurricane Hazel though is that because rainfall events are becom- ing more frequent and more intense due to cli- mate change, the '100-year storm’ will happen more of- ten. In recent years we are seeing more than double the number of large storm events “We're more in- tense localized storms as op- po: to region events," Goodyear added. "We're seeing more big events than 30 years ago. It's fair to say that a 100-year storm is more frequent to- day but the challenge is what is the number? 75? 82? We don't have enough data to say with confidence what Goodyear said for the past 20 years, municip: ties have planned their ae vel re a eee om events to be about 15 cent larger. thermore, since Hurricane Hazel, we've stopped building homes in flood plains The good news is that means newer areas are very safe, with drainage, piping and stormwater ponds. Older urban areas built before the 1950s, however, are more susceptible. Host an student! international CANA ENG DA LINC we LIS Established 2002 Who: Students age 13-17 from Spain & France. What: Students take English classes Mon-Fri and go on trips/ activities during the week. Host families provide room and board, plus a welcoming environment. Where: Wilfred Laurier University. Students are provided with a GRT pass. When: Spanish June 28-July 25, French July 8-28. Why: Provide your family and the international student with a fantastic cultural experience! Families are remunerated $1,000/ 4 weeks. Please email kelly@canadalinc.com or call 519.616.2006 for more information.