HIGH RIVER STILL BLIGHTED BY ABANDONED HOMES

Even as High River finishes

rebuilding, an abandoned neighbourhood full of million-dollar homes is a stark reminder of devastating flooding four years ago. Floods in parts of southern Alberta in June 2013 caused billions of dollars in damage. In High River, one of the hardesthit communities, entire neighbourhoods stood under water for weeks. Nearly all of the community’s 12,000 residents were forced from their homes. “It’s been very hard. It’s not easy to rebuild from something that was that devastating,” said High River Mayor Craig Snodgrass. “We’re 95 per cent complete.” Some neighbourhoods were considered to be too much at risk to rebuild. Beachwood, once an upscale neighbourhood along the Highwood River, was one of them.