The Terrace Floods, 1978: defining a disaster

by Joseph Scanlon and Brian Taylor with Therese Jarzab,
Emergency Preparedness Canada

In November 1978 the Terrace area was inundated by over 144 millimeters of rain, in a 24 hour period.  Although Terrace was not seriously effected by the resulting flooding, surrounding areas were damaged by high water and all utility services in the area were seriously disrupted, including highways and secondary road washouts, numerous bridges washed away, power lines and poles destroyed, gas lines severed, railroad lines washed out, and flooding of homes in outlying areas.

At the time, the University of Carleton in Ottawa, Ontario had an Emergency Communications Research Unit that did a study of the disaster around Terrace.  They examined the role of the many agencies involved in the response, namely the BC Department of Highways, Provincial Emergency Program, BC Hydro, RCMP and Canadian National Railways, to name a few. 

The study is 114 pages long.  Not a casual read, but I would recommend reading, at least, the first half of the study.  The link below will get you a pdf file if your device does not display the file:

Report on the Flood of November 1978 in northwest British Columbia

In September 1979 the Inland Waters Directorate, of the Pacific and Yukon Region, of the Environmental Branch of Environment Canada at Vancouver BC produced an unpublished report on the 1978 Flood which centers significantly on the meteorological developments that contributed to the flood.  There is a link below the following document that allows you to download the file.

One of the bridges between Terrace and Hazelton that were washed out. On the left was the temporary road, including a bailey bridge crossing the river. Photo by Charles LeRoss

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