Military assistance requested as flooding hits downtown Fort McMurray
With rising river levels in Fort McMurray, Alta., threatening homes and businesses in the heart of the community's downtown, the mayor is asking for military assistance to limit the damage.
Flooding caused by ice jams in the rapidly thawing Athabasca River worsened overnight, prompting a new round of mandatory evacuation orders, a decision to block access to the downtown area, and a boil water advisory.
Help has been requested from Canada's Armed Forces and the federal government to deal with "this new crisis" in the northern Alberta community, said Don Scott, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, in a post on social media.
Early Monday morning, evacuation orders were issued for the lower townsite, including parts of Franklin Avenue, a main thoroughfare that runs parallel to the Clearwater River, one of three rivers running through Fort McMurray.
Streets were underwater and some residents could be seen evacuating through the flooded roads by boat.
"Access to the lower townsite, including MacDonald Island, downtown and Waterways, is temporarily closed due to flooding concerns," reads a municipal advisory issued shortly before 5 a.m. by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
"No entry is allowed. Residents who leave the lower townsite will not be allowed re-entry."
Evacuations began Sunday
Flooding in the region began on Sunday as ice jams in the Athabasca forced water to move in the opposite direction and eventually caused water levels to rise in the Athabasca, Snye and Clearwater rivers.
The situation changed rapidly overnight. Between midnight and 6 a.m. Monday, the municipality issued six new emergency advisories to residents.
The expanded evacuation orders issued Monday morning included specific roadways in the lower townsite: Demers Drive, Armit Crescent, Fitzsimmons Avenue and Father Mercredi Street. The Platinum Hotel on Franklin Avenue is specifically named.
Residents on Pond Crescent, Poplar Crescent and the southern portion of Alberta Drive closest to Hospital Street were also told to move to higher ground. People with homes from Riedel Street to Marshall Street along Manning Avenue also received notice.
On Sunday, evacuation orders were issued for the Taiga Nova Eco-Industrial Park, Longboat Landing and Draper, an unincorporated community with less than 200 people located about 12 kilometres south of Fort McMurray.
By the end of the day, Waterways, a neighbourhood south of downtown, was given notice to evacuate.
Boil water advisory, state of emergency
Due to reports of discolouration in tap water of Fort McMurray neighbourhoods north of the Athabasca River, Alberta Health Services has directed a boil water advisory to be issued.
Water in the affected area is safe for bathing but should not be consumed by people or pets.
Areas south of the Athabasca River are not affected at this time, municipal officials said.
The RMWB declared a secondary state of local emergency on Sunday as rising water levels along the Athabasca, Snye and Clearwater rivers created a high risk of flash flooding.
A local state of emergency had previously been declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Remain alert, residents warned
The Athabasca continues to break and water levels remain extremely high, the municipality warned on Monday.
Residents in flood-prone areas should prepare a 72-hour emergency kit and stay alert as the risk of further flooding remains.
"Every year the ice breaks and we have some sort of event. Usually, the ice flows on by. Once approximately every 20 years we have something different happen," Mayor Scott said in a phone interview Sunday.
"This happens to be that year."
Scott said officials had been monitoring an ice jam about 10 kilometres upstream, which let loose early Sunday morning.
Phil Meagher, a municipal councillor who surveyed the situation by bicycle, said he could see a gravel truck that was almost completely submerged at an area of town called the Snye, where the Snye and Clearwater rivers meet.
"Everything else in the Snye is totally underwater. Even our skateboard park looks like a brand-new swimming pool," Meagher said.
Evacuees were being directed to a drive-thru reception centre that has been set up at the Oil Sands Discovery Centre. They are being housed in hotel rooms that had been pre-booked by the municipality.
Scott said physical distancing recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are being followed.
He noted the municipality prepares every year for the possibility of flooding when the ice breaks up. When officials issued public health orders related to COVID-19 more than a month ago, Scott said they knew they'd have to incorporate the pandemic into flood planning.
Scott noted Fort McMurray's population is ready for disasters, such as the wildfire in 2016 that forced the entire city to evacuate and destroyed 2,400 homes and buildings.
"Because of the oilsands, people are very used to being in a very safety-driven environment," he said.
"And if there's any place that can face challenges, it's ours."
