Red River Basin Canadian Flood Management Virtual Database

The 1997 flood of the Red River between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Winnipeg Manitoba referred to by many as the "flood of the century", tested the existing flood protection infrastructure to the limits. The risk of a similar or greater flood event has stimulated numerous activities. One activity is the commissioning of the Canadian virtual database by the International Joint Committee Red River Task Force (IJC). The Canadian Red River Basin flood management Virtual DataBase (RRBVDB) is a component of the Red River Basin Disaster Information Network (RRBDIN currently being developed by the US government. The RRBVDB virtual database concept can best be described as a gateway to data repositories that reside in several locations, making them accessible via the Internet. The RRBVDB focuses on providing access to data sets that relate to flood management activities within the Red River Basin. These activities consist of flood fighting efforts, but also flood planning and flood recovery activities. As a virtual data repository or clearinghouse, the RRBVDB provides access to data that is maintained by various Canadian agencies. However, developing a data clearinghouse does not quite fit the full intent of the RRBVDB. The final goal for future development relates more as a decision support tool in which specific activities and decision processes are directly supported. This paper presents the initial phase of RRBVDB development and its link with related disaster management activities throughout the basin. The content of the paper consists of a description of the overall vision for providing flood disaster decision support, a discussion of the approach for integrating various Canadian data providers within the current "Canadian data culture" and a tour of the current functionality.