Rainfall in Calgary less severe than forecast
Official says city `still not out of the woods,' but flooding, evacuations not expected
Calgary will likely dodge evacuation orders and overland flooding from this week's major rainfall, city emergency officials say.
Speaking Tuesday afternoon, Calgary water resources director Francois Bouchart said the deluge ended up being less severe than forecast, leaving Bow River and Elbow River levels significantly below the upper limits of what officials had projected.
“We're very optimistic in terms of the outcomes and what is going to develop over the next day and a half as we see those peaks flow through the city,” Bouchart said, adding any additional rain in the city after Tuesday afternoon wasn't expected to affect flooding forecasts.
“I do want to remind everybody, though, that weather is very dynamic and conditions on the river can change very, very quickly.”
Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry echoed those comments, saying the city was “still not out of the woods.” But it was an improved forecast from earlier in the morning, when officials wouldn't rule out possible evacuations in the northwest communities of Bowness and Sunnyside.
A local state of emergency remains in effect for Calgary. The declaration gives the city exceptional powers to deal with emergencies, including allowing police and fire crews to go door-to-door to inform residents of evacuation orders.
On Tuesday, Environment Canada had issued a wind warning for Calgary, as winds gusting up to 90 km/ h hammered the city throughout the afternoon. The federal agency said wet ground from rainfall could increase the risk of falling trees, and warned damage to roof shingles and windows was possible. The wind warning ended shortly after 4 p.m.
City utility Enmax reported power outages in several communities during the wind storm, primarily in northwest neighbourhoods, and said extra crews were working to restore service.
Calgary Transportation said some traffic lights in the city were flashing or blank, and some downed trees had been reported as of early afternoon. Downed trees kept fire crews busy throughout the city, and officials asked Calgarians to call 311 to report fallen trees on public property.
Water levels on the Elbow River were expected to crest Tuesday evening, and weren't thought to pose any flood risk. The Bow River's peak was expected Wednesday morning, with the city saying it expects to be able to manage flows without any localized flooding.
Henry said Tuesday afternoon she was not aware of any reports of basement flooding.
Some city flood mitigation efforts took place across Calgary, most notably the construction of a temporary berm on Memorial Drive. That barrier is 88 metres of clay near 3rd Street N.W., which connects to an existing berm to the west, and construction was expected to finish late Tuesday.
That temporary barrier was erected out of an abundance of caution, Bouchart said, following water flowing from that area west into Sunnyside during Calgary's 2013 floods.
Memorial Drive is closed indefinitely between 10th Street N.W. and Edmonton Trail N.E. Officials said they are monitoring another weather system expected to hit Calgary on Monday, which could affect decisions on when to remove the temporary berm and reopen the road.
Mike Bradfield, who lives in Sunnyside on 1st Avenue N.W., had his home inundated multiple times during the 2013 flood.
He said he and his neighbours are relieved it appears they'll dodge flooding after spending the past several days on edge. He said the city needs to invest in permanent mitigation solutions, chiefly by raising the height of the existing berm to make it stand up to more severe floods.
He's happy with the temporary clay berm set up across Memorial Drive, but said it wouldn't have been necessary if the city had moved to proactively bolster the permanent berm.
“We're glad that they did it, but it's a symbol of abject failure of them to really do their job, the job they should have already done,” Bradfield said.
Some low-lying pathways and park areas along the Bow River are closed due to flood risk. A map of those closures can be found on the City of Calgary's website. The city dropped the level of the Glenmore Reservoir in anticipation of the downpour.
The city deployed pumps in areas including Sunnyside and Bowness, as well as at a few points on the Elbow River to mitigate flood risk, including from water coming through storm sewers.
Water levels in other low-lying areas such as Bridgeland and Inglewood haven't reached the threshold required to begin water pumping.
Part of the reason for the more optimistic local flooding forecast was due to some precipitation in the Rocky Mountains falling as snow, Bouchart said.
“The fact that we have snow that fell rather than rain has meant that we're actually looking at a better situation than what we'd anticipated,” he said.
At least two evacuations had taken place, in houses identified as being at risk below Mchugh Bluff, between Crescent Heights and Sunnyside. The city recently closed a walking path on the bluff until at least fall 2023 due to slope stability concerns.
Boating and other river activities are currently banned, and Calgary fire crews said they hadn't had to perform any rescues.
Water had pooled on some roadways in the city, forcing detours and lane closures. The city closed Bowness Park, St. Patrick's Island and Prince's Island Park as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, which officials described as a proactive decision as they continue monitoring water levels.
Calgarians are asked to call 311 to report flooding in non-emergency situations.
No early estimates on the cost of the disaster response were available Tuesday afternoon, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said. Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said the province set aside $1 billion in its 2022 budget for municipal disasters and emergency assistance.
Elsewhere, Alberta Environment issued numerous flood warnings, watches and advisories to the west of Calgary. Those include a flood warning on the Little Red Deer River and high streamflow advisories on the Bow River
at Banff, Canmore and Exshaw, and on tributaries to the river upstream of Calgary. No effects to Fish Creek were expected.
South of Calgary in Foothills County, emergency officials said several flood warnings have been downgraded to advisories, including in the Town of High River. The area was among those hit hardest by the 2013 floods.
“I think it's brought back some bad memories from 2013, but at the same time, I think people also know they're better prepared than they were back then,” said Foothills County emergency services manager Darlene Roblin.
“We're moving in the right direction at this point, so we're thankful for that, but it's always good to prepare for that worst-case scenario.”
Flood mitigation work took place west of Calgary throughout Tuesday.
In Cochrane, officials pumped away water that flooded the Coop Cardlock station. Banff crews installed temporary dams on town streets as a barrier to protect housing from surging waters.
Alberta's River Forecast Centre said as of about 3 p.m. Tuesday, in areas of heavier precipitation there have been 60 to 80 millimetres of rain, with local amounts of up to 110 mm recorded west of Calgary.
They forecast an additional 20 to 30 mm of rainfall over the rest of Tuesday, with “lingering shower activity” possible Wednesday.