As Quebec gets wetter because of climate change, risks of landslides increase
CTV
Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of weather events that cause landslides in Quebec, like the one that killed two people a week ago, said a researcher who studies natural risks.
Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of weather events that cause landslides in Quebec, like the one that killed two people a week ago, said a researcher who studies natural risks.
Jacques Locat, a professor emeritus at Université Laval, says climate change models predict that southern Quebec will receive between five and 14 per cent more rain by 2050.
That increase in precipitation, his research suggests, coupled with an expected rise in extreme rain events, will make the frequency of landslides in the province more likely.
"The impact of climate change on landslides in Quebec will be mainly related to precipitation," Locat, co-founder of a research laboratory at the university that studies natural risks, said in a recent interview.
On Saturday, torrential rain in Quebec's Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean region contributed to several landslides — including one that led to the death of two people.
That landslide, Locat said, appears to have been caused by erosion along the Éternité River and saturation of the embankment above the river, both of which triggered sandy material on top of the clay soil to slide downward.
Quebec risks having more "superficial landslides," Locat said, which generally involve soil conditions that are particularly susceptible to erosion and to being rapidly saturated with water.
