Totally agree. As a retired engineer who specialized in flood control, mitigation for lost natural storm water retention and storm frequency occurrences, so much of this article is totally familiar. Whether climate change has anything to do with this flood in BC is irrelevant. We have realized for 20 years now that flood frequency statistics have been changing rapidly over the years. What was a 1:100 rated rainfall and flood occurrence is happening more regularly in the last few decades (thus no longer should be classified as a 1:100, and more and more industry experts are realizing this. Through the latter half of my career, which I retired from 5 years ago, storm water management and municipal storm sewers were designed to accommodate a 1:5 frequency. A higher frequency storm than that would then surcharge the system and overland runoff would then occur. Overland accommodation within subdivisions up to the 1:25 frequency were then relied on to flood streets but still protect residential and industrial development. Unfortunately the multitude of flooded yards and basements, and surcharged sanitary sewers made it obvious that this protection level was not adequate. Engineering reports for every new development and for many existing ones that apply for a permit to build a deck, garage, whatever have become a requirement and insurance companies, at least here in Alberta, are paying attention and in numerous cases are refusing to insure, or cancelling overland flood insurance on properties suspect of being in a potential floodplain area. That being said though, there are still development companies determined to build communities on suspect lands that, although required to submit a floodplain study, find ways to either circumvent this process, find a professional who will provide a less damning report for them, or present selective information to government appeal boards that in many cases know little of what they are approving. I will stop short of discussing whether pockets may be getting lined or favors handed out in some instances.
Since this rant is now long enough that many likely won't read this far, lol, I will just say that an extremely large percentage of flood occurrences are positively the result of poor decisions by governments, whether Federal or Municipal and are of no surprise to yours truly and many who work in this industry. I only feel sorry for the average person who doesn't understand how flooding occurs and were issued building permits to build on potential floodplains.
BC flooding is indeed a tragedy but much of it is the result of poor decisions and greed. JMO