Calgary flooding forces community evacuations
The City of Calgary has issued mandatory evacuation orders for six communities along the Elbow River.
The communities of Mission, Elbow Park, Stanley Park, Roxboro, Rideau and Discovery Ridge are being evacuated immediately. Emergency responders are going door-to-door and residents will not be allowed access to those communities after 3 p.m. MT.
Southern Alberta reacts to massive flooding.
Rain-deluged Canmore, Alta., in state of emergency.
Alberta emergency contacts.
Residents are encouraged to find shelter with family or friends for at least the next 72 hours. Reception centres have been set up for residents who cannot find alternate accommodations.
Those reception centres are located at Southland Leisure Centre and Acadia Recreation Complex.
People should bring identification, prescription medications and other critical personal items with them.
Calgary Transit and Access Calgary are on standby to help residents who cannot leave on their own.
Those requiring assistance are asked to identify themselves to emergency responders going door-to-door.
People with pets are encouraged to leave them with family or friends. If that option is not available, people can take their pets to the Animal Service Centre.
Officials in Calgary have warned residents to brace for flooding worse than what the city saw in 2005.
The city held a press conference Thursday after declaring a state of emergency in anticipation of heavy flows from the Elbow and Bow rivers reaching the city.
"The data we have currently would indicate that we will probably see water come over the top of the Glenmore Dam, at a flow rate that probably exceeds that of 2005," said Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency.
The city has also opened its Emergency Operations Centre, where key personnel from city business units and external groups like Enmax, Atco and Alberta Health Services gather to support front-line responders. It is the city's multi-agency command centre for large scale emergencies.
The decision was made based on the potential severity of incoming high river flows in combination with expected heavy rainfall.
The city has begun to implement its flood response plans and is deploying sandbags and temporary dams at key locations.
"We do know that there are going to have to be evacuations, that areas are going to have flooding occur within the city of Calgary," said Burrell. "We know that that is not going to happen until probably late tonight, towards the early morning."
City officials are reminding people to stay away from rivers and creeks as the banks may be unstable because of rising water. Residents are also being cautioned to avoid storm water ponds and to keep children away from these areas.
Anyone experiencing basement flooding is asked to call 311.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi is returning early from an economic development trip to Eastern Canada. He should be back in Calgary tonight.
Alberta Premier Alison Redford said she plans to visit the areas affected by flooding Friday.
“I’ve been following today’s events with great concern, and my heart goes out to the many Albertans who have been evacuated due to the floods that are affecting much of southern and central Alberta today,” she said in a release.
“I strongly encourage everyone to follow the public safety orders of their municipalities. If you are being ordered to evacuate, please do so for your own safety.”
Meanwhile, heavy rain also prompted officials in the mountain town of Canmore, about 100 kilometres west of Calgary, to declare a local state of emergency after the banks of a creek that runs through the community became unstable.
About 40 homes were evacuated at 2 a.m. MT on Thursday when the banks of Cougar Creek were deemed unstable, Canmore Mayor John Borrowman said.
“The situation is actually bad and getting worse,” he said. “Now some of the smaller creeks are starting to flood.”
The evacuees were taken in at the town’s civic centre and at two local hotels.
Other residents are being alerted to be ready to move if necessary.
High River, about 70 kilometres south of Calgary, also declared a state of emergency early Thursday morning after the Highwood River started overflowing its banks.
All homes and businesses in the hamlet of Bragg Creek, 44 kilometres west of Calgary on the edge of Kananaskis Country, were ordered evacuated as the Elbow River surges over its banks. Power to the area has been shut off.
Just downstream, residents of the townsite of Redwood Meadows were told they should leave their homes and use northbound Highway 22 to get out of the area. Townsite administration manager Pat Evans said the water is higher than it was during the last big flood in 1995.
In southwest Alberta, parts of the Crowsnest Pass are being evacuated because of high water levels.
In Turner Valley, southwest of Calgary, a sour gas wellhead ruptured at the same time as the town dealt with fast-rising flood waters in the Sheep River.
Turner Valley Coun. Barry Williamson said the pipeline was struck by river debris, adding that an evacuation was ordered for residences in the area.
The rupture caused a release of sour gas containing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) — a colourless, flammable gas that smells like rotten eggs — but officials have said the risk is now contained. Air quality monitoring at the point of the rupture isn't detecting dangerous sour gas levels.
