A sociologist argues wealthier residents of Edmonton can better respond to big floods compared to lower-income residents in places like New Orleans:

While flooding did affect Calgary’s lower-income neighbourhoods, including Bowness and Montgomery, their gentrification in the past decade has attracted a more middle-class crowd.

As such, the dynamics of recovery in the city will differ markedly from past flooding disasters. The people most affected will have significant resources at their disposal, Haney said.

“It’s never easy and it’s still really traumatic, but it’s different than most floods in that, most of the time, the people who flood are the people who don’t have the ability to fund their own recoveries.”

Moreover, flooding has affected about 12 per cent of Calgary residential real estate, while about 80 per cent of New Orleans was under water for two weeks. With flooding victims able to get support from family and friends, shelters in the city have been running under capacity.

This makes sense but it is an underreported feature of disaster coverage: while lower-income residents will have much more difficulty getting back on their feet, higher-income residents can draw upon their wealth, insurance, and social networks with more resources.

It would be interesting to see how much government disaster aid goes to those with higher incomes compared to those with lower incomes. While a major flood or tornado or hurricane can be devastating to everyone, not everyone is at the same starting point in making a recovery.