In the past 30 years, floods have affected more than 2.8 billion people worldwide and caused over 500,000 deaths. In Canada, flooding has caused significant damage and disruption to communities across the country. The 2021 floods in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley cost an estimated $14 billion in damages.
Human activity that changes landscapes can make floods larger and more frequent. Our recently published study shows that clear-cut logging can dramatically increase flood risk, turning what was once a 50-year event into a flood recurring every three years, with the largest and rarest floods showing the greatest sensitivity to forest disturbance.
