AT LEAST IT WASN’T A SNOW STORM
Kent Hauptman was among motorists rescued Wednesday from stalled vehicles under the 106 Street overpass on Whitemud Drive. A sudden storm flooded streets and knocked out power.
Motorists had to be rescued from more than a dozen vehicles stalled in flood water Wednesday under two Whitemud Drive overpasses after a severe thunderstorm swept through the city.
The storm knocked out power and flooded streets, including Whitemud Drive at the 111 Street and 106 Street overpasses. Firefighters used inflatable rafts to reach some motorists, caught in video footage posted on social media.
The water was knee-deep, said Deris Spencer, a Whitemud motorist who became stuck in a flash flood under the 111 Street overpass.
“We were in the middle lane when it conked out and other traffic just kept coming by, so we tried to get out, but every time the traffic came by, it swamped the car,” she said.
It was only when cars stalled in the other lanes, she said, that it was safe to get out and push her car to higher ground.
No injuries were reported from the Whitemud flooding, said Shani Gwin, a fire rescue spokeswoman. There were 16 firefighters on the Whitemud at the two overpasses, she added.
The freeway remained closed between 99 and 122 streets during the evening rush hour.
Meanwhile, a man was treated in hospital after being struck by lightning in Bonnie Doon Park. He was taken to hospital in stable condition, said Kerry Williamson, a spokesman with Alberta Health Services.
Epcor responded to power outages across the city, with seven circuits affected at the height of the storm, said spokesman Tim LeRiche. Most homes were back online by 7:30 p.m.
Almost 100 traffic lights were knocked out, turning many intersections into four-way stops.
Flooding also disrupted some city attractions, including K-Days, where visitors were urged to take shelter inside the Edmonton Expo Centre.
The Meadows Recreation Centre closed early with flooding and electrical damage and the Varscona Theatre posted a photo of staff scrambling to bail out its front lobby. Jasper Avenue and 109 Street was also closed for a time, the City of Edmonton said.
The worst-hit areas in southeast Edmonton received between 40 and 70 mm of precipitation — which included hail — over a period of 90 minutes to two hours, said CTV meteorologist Josh Classen.
These were “pulse storms,” developed locally with the heat and humidity despite the highpressure ridge Edmonton’s been experiencing lately, he said.
“Because there’s very little wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere … you have to wait for them to rain themselves out,” he said. “It was luck of the draw where it popped up today.”
The storm was similar to one that hit southwest Edmonton and Mill Woods in 2012, but lighter than the storm that dumped roughly 100 mm of rain in 2004. He expected more rain Friday evening and Saturday, but drier weather for Sunday and Monday on the long weekend.
City officials were trying to determine if the Whitemud flooding was caused by a lack of capacity in the pipes or a blockage, said Ward 10 Coun. Michael Walters, adding he hoped to confirm if there have been any upgrades done since the 2012 flooding.
Walters has been pushing for better flood preparedness as more, and more severe, storms roll through. He said the city’s climate adaptation strategy is due back with a high-level assessment of risks this fall. That will include an assessment of transportation infrastructure.