Floods in Calgary + Southern Alberta

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Long post, bear with me ...

I know some people are aware of this (a shout out goes to Lawrocket for sending me a "I hope all is well" IM this morning) but I am sure many aren't aware due to the lack of news coverage Canada gets in the world. But Calgary and Southern Alberta have been hit pretty hard with a perfect "100 year storm" and flooding like we have never seen before has occurred. The eastern half of downtown Calgary (a city of well over one million people) is under water and while the worst of the rain has stopped, a ton of rain also fell in the foothills next to the mountains and guess which way the water is coming. That rain will hit Calgary which is downstream of the mountains tonight. So additional flooding dangers still exist.

I purposely avoided starting a thread earlier in the day because I wanted to avoid letting it get political (just remember low pressure systems rotate counter clockwise and guess where the Rocky Mountains are located? just to the west of the city and the moisture was unable to clear the mountains so it just fell from the sky and the storm just kept feeding off of itself. Of course it did not help that it has been raining a lot this Spring and the ground was already saturated. Now if someone wants to make this thread political, I can't stop them. But I won't be participating in the partisan BS. Now is not the time for politics.

Canmore Alberta, a picturesque town 20 minutes east of Banff at the foot of the Rockie Mountains was hit hard when the usual almost non-exist Cougar Creek turned into a raging river and the Trans Canada Highway has been completely washed out in Canmore stranding travelers and many transport trucks.

Video from Canmore

Bragg Creek a small town in the foothills 30 minutes west of Calgary was also hit hard. If some of you have heard about our floods you very well may have seen a video from Bragg Creek of a house slamming into a bridge.

Video from Bragg Creek

Then of course there is Calgary, a metropolitan city of over one million people, the hub of financial affairs in Western Canada who's entire downtown business core has been closed down thanks to all the water coming in from the Bow and Elbow Rivers. But so far the city did the right thing, they evacuated all the low lying areas adjacent to these two rivers and so far knock on wood, nobody has died despite the massive flooding damage we are enduring.

However not to be out done, the towns of High River, Black Diamond and Turner Valley have been hit just as hard if not harder and it has been confirm that at least three bodies have been pulled from the Highwood River.

Aerial video of the flooding in Calgary and High River
(sorry about the commercials)

I myself a resident of Calgary am fine. I live in one of the highest elevations in the city. But I had a bit of an adventure getting home from work today (I left work soon after lunch) as most of the bridges crossing the Bow River had been closed and well I can't get home without having to cross that river. Fortunately I did find a bridge that was open and was able to cross. But what I saw crossing that river is a sight I have never seen before. The river was about three times it's normal width where I crossed, the surrounding streets and fields were flooded and most impressive was how violent the river was where I crossed. Water can be a very destructive force.

This is a tough time for Calgary and Southern Alberta. But Albertans are tough, resourceful, community oriented people and we will endure and we will rebuild. If there are any other Calgarians/Albertans reading this, by all means let us know how you are doing and if you need anything.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi Canuck,

How are things down near Claresholm where Al MacDonald is?

JerryBaumchen

[CanuckInUSA 0]

I have not heard anything on the news concerning Claresholm. I am sure they are fine. There are no big rivers near the town.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[IanHarrop 37]

I emailed Al yesterday and he reports that he is fine. His neighbour got flooded quite badly but He is OK.

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Here is some more aerial footage of the damage.

Aerial Footage of Calgary

Aerial Footage of High River

Note: the High River footage is mistakenly labeled as Calgary on YouTube and the audio was obviously never meant to be broadcast on TV.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[MrCat 0]

[we live in the uk btw..]

My girlfriends youngest son (he's 21) posted a photo of Bragg Creek a few hours before the video was taken - unfortunately he was on the wrong side at the time and wasn't allowed to cross back over the bridge so he's had to stay with friends.

He was posting to facebook moaning that his phone was running out of charge. Priorities at that age eh ??

Did I hear that Banff was cut off for a while?

Hope you guys are all ok over there!!

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[CanuckInUSA 0]

Did I hear that Banff was cut off for a while?

Not exactly ... the Trans Canada Highway runs through Banff as well as Canmore and due to the surrounding mountains in both towns, the highway is pretty much the only way in and out for both towns. Now the Trans Canada Highway was severed in Canmore. So any east bound traffic from Banff could only go as far as Canmore. But everything to the West as well as the north in Banff was still open.

From what I have heard, limited access through this severed highway has been opened. But the highway in Canmore needs major work before it can get back to normal.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over