FLOODS & RAINSTORMS

Emilyc, Emilyh, Daniel,Helana

Floods in Newfoundland cause very much damage in that they can wipe out houses, cars, boats and  many belongings. Floods usually  occer with high tides or bad rainstorms. Some floods are related to spring runoff. When we have a big rainstorm in the spring,and the snow is melting at the same time, problems occur with drainage. The sewer system is filled with water and have nowhere else to go, so it floods the streets and homes creating sooooo many problems.  Newfoundland have big  amounts of snowfall every year so it is a worry every year particularly in St. John's as we are the oldest city in North America and so we have the oldest sewer system too. As well we are a very hilly city so you can just imagine that all this water is at the bottom of these hills flooding the  streets below. 

The greatest amounts of rain  occur inland along the south coast between Port aux Basques and St. Albans, which lies in the path of Atlantic storms, and over the Long Range Mountains, which lie in the lee of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The south coast has annual totals exceeding 1650 mm, which  is over our heads making this region the wettest in eastern Canada. Mountain runoff causes problems for the small communities who often do not have good drainage system.

Flood risk zone maps have been prepared for sixteen communities in the province most prone to flooding. Floods occur when, because of high discharge, a river overtops its banks. Sixteen communities  of fishermen prepare every spring with sandbags and breakwaters to try to save their wharves, sheds and boats from being destroyed.   Often though damage do occur and the fishermen have to rebuild.

A relentless downpour forced hundreds from their homes in the western Newfoundland and Labrador community of Stephenville, after a pair of rain-filled rivers running through the town burst their banks.

More than 110 millimetres of rain fell on the western Newfoundland town overnight, spurring local officials to declare a state of emergency early Tuesday. As many as 200 of the town's 8,000 residents had to evacuate from their home's.