Vulcan County declares emergency due to flooding

Vulcan County is the latest Alberta district to declare a state of local emergency due to overland flooding.

The county made the announcement following a council meeting Wednesday morning. In the afternoon, the county said Alberta Transportation has closed Highway 539 at Bow City and Highway 539 at the intersection of 845 due to flooding.

“Vulcan County believes that there is an imminent hazard to land, property and infrastructure, and has directed municipal staff to undertake whatever actions are necessary to protect private and public property from damage with a special emphasis on the protection of residential dwellings,” county officials said in a statement.

Local states of emergency also remain in effect for the Siksika Nation, the Municipal District of Taber and the County of Forty Mile.

Siksika Nation officials said Wednesday that road conditions are showing signs of minor improvement and crews have started repairing roadways that suffered the worst damage.

The office of Municipal Affairs Minister Shaye Anderson said Alberta Emergency Management Agency field officers are working with the Siksika Emergency Management Team and with local authorities in southern Alberta communities, including the Town and MD of Taber, Lethbridge County and other affected municipalities.

“Our thoughts are with the families and businesses who are affected by the flooding in southern Alberta,” Anderson said in a written statement.

Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan, Alberta Health Services and the First Nations Inuit Health Branch, under the federal government, have also been in contact with Siksika Nation authorities, Anderson’s press secretary, Lauren Arscott, said.

The First Nations Inuit Health Branch has helped move vulnerable residents outside the community so they can continue to receive medical help, she added.