Flood-impact map a Canadian first 

Western researcher Slobodan P. Simonovic shows how - and where - flooding will put humans and property at risk under changing climate  The raging Bow River rushes under and around Centre Street Bridge in Calgary during June 2013 floods that cost five lives and caused $6 billion in damage across Alberta. The event was triggered by heavy rainfall and unseasonable snowmelt from the nearby Rocky Mountains. Photo by Ryan L.C. Quan, Wikimedia Commons A Western University flood-control expert has developed the first Canada-wide maps showing how floodplains - including low-lying areas of major cities like Vancouver and Montreal - may become inundated in the next 80 years under various climate change scenarios. About four million Canadians now live in flood-affected areas - and they and others will be at increased risk in coming decades, the mapping data shows. Engineering professor Slobodan Simonovic's mapping tool is a deep dive into one consequence of more frequent, and more intense, extreme weather induced by climate change. "What we used to call 100-year floods in London, for example, are taking place now once every 30 years," he said. "Floods are killing people around the world, and in countries  you wouldn't expect, such as , the U.S. and Japan.