Recent flood disasters have made us stronger
This is traditionally the week when river and creek levels rise here, leading to floods.
The June 18, 2010 flood in Cypress County still has many wince as memories are stirred. Without any warning, ranchers near Irvine talked of a “wall” of water bursting through the water course, ripping up buildings and carting them away. Water filled homes as though they were swimming pools and in the process ruined family treasures. It was sheer terror for those personally affected.
Eventually the flow of water reduced but for displaced residents the nightmare was anything but over.
It would take years of particularly difficult negotiations with the government’s Disaster Recovery Program (DRP) that had been contracted out to a private company owned by former government officials. That LandLink was receiving about $10 million in administrative fees, while residents were living in trailers as their homes remained filled with mud, did not help.
Some of the people whose stories were told in The News talked about experiencing the worst year of their lives.
It seemed as though flooding was on a roll.
In April, 2011, a state of emergency was declared in Medicine Hat as low lying areas were sandbagged to protect homes and businesses. A vast impromptu lake up to four feet deep enveloped a ranch of 160 acres on Range Road 50, east of Medicine Hat.
That month, Seven Persons Lake Reservoir came close to giving way with many of the surrounding residents evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Most of us have images of flooding in Medicine Hat the weekend of June 23, 2013.
The banks of the South Saskatchewan River were flanked with a throng of people who were eerily quiet. Water the colour of coffee surged through town, just skimming the undersides of bridges. Who can forget the people with equipment on bridges ready to remove any debris that had the potential to snag and expand flooding. A crane was at the ready near TransCanada Highway bridge in case it would collapse, creating a new dam of water. City crews, contractors and even the army worked through the night to add protection to vulnerable areas. Then the water level began to recede.
Families who could not return to their homes because of significant structural damage became household names as we heard of their plight. It would take many months of anguish before a plan was in place to help those most in need.
The emotional stress translated to physical symptoms and some did not know how they would ever be able to return to any normal life.
That is perhaps the lesson to learn in all of this. We can often handle a lot more than we would ever have thought. While the process can be terrifying and we can’t see a way out in the end we emerge at the other end and are stronger for it. It is a bit like physical exercise. Start an exercise class and you may be in agony with sore muscles for days but continue with the exercises and you will be stronger and fitter.
As a city and province, significant progress has been made in providing protection against future flooding. That is encouraging.
On every level flooding has changed our landscape physically and emotionally and we are better for it.
(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions or call her at 403-528-8635.)
The emotional stress translated to physical symptoms and some did not know how they would ever be able to return to any normal life.