Flood 2013: When Leaders Emerged and Risk Management Evolved at the University of Calgary

This article, organized as a teaching case, relates a small portion of the story that emerged when 2013 brought Calgary the most severe floods in living memory. The article first provides the reader with a bit of background on the topography, hydrology, and general risk exposure of the Bow River Valley in general and Calgary in particular. The next section provides some detail about The University of Calgary and its risk management structure. The article then looks at the Flood of 2013, describing the extent and phases of the disaster and the biggest challenges faced at the University. The article illustrates how important risk management processes can be even when an organization does not experience a disaster. The article concludes with a set of questions and answers that can be used to structure either a written assignment or an in‐class discussion. The key lessons that emerged for risk managers are presented in the answers to those questions.