In Canada, floods are the most destructive natural disaster in terms of cumulative property damages and losses (Kumar et al., 2001). In Alberta, major floods along rivers and streams have resulted in loss of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Major recent flood events occurred in 1995, 1997 and 2005. River floods can occur throughout the year with precipitation leading to summer floods (1995 and 2005 floods) and river ice creating a potential for flooding in the winter (1997 floods). River flooding in Southern Alberta during the spring of 2005 tragically resulted in the loss of 3 lives and an economic loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. To date, the federal and provincial governments have provided over $165 million in disaster assistance for this flood event.