Mammoth cleanup begins
As Calgarians return home, Medicine Hat awaits its fate
CALGARY — As Medicine Hat learned it might not be hit as hard as expected, receding waters in Calgary allowed 65,000 residents to return home Sunday, revealing the staggering toll of a deluge that swallowed up stretches of road, lifted train tracks and left piles of debris in its wake.
Across much of the southern part of the province, the flooding continued to paralyze communities and First Nations reserves, with 25 states of local emergencies still in force Sunday night.
In Calgary, an 88-year-old woman was found dead Sunday in her home.
Relatives discovered her body in her first-floor suite, which had evidence of water on the floor.
Three other Albertans have died as a result of flooding. Another is missing.
Premier Alison Redford confirmed the crisis as the worst flood in the province’s history — a situation “like nothing that we’ve ever seen before in Alberta,” she said.
The premier promised affected residents: “We will get you the help that you need.”
While parts of the province were in cleanup mode, southeastern Alberta was still poised for the waters to surge.
In Medicine Hat, the South Saskatchewan River climbed to 5,000 cubic metres per second and is expected to crest at 1 a.m. Monday. By midday, at least one dike had failed, and water already seeped up driveways of sandbagged homes.
Edmonton firefighters and Epcor workers headed south on Sunday to help with flood relief, while 80 local police officers returned from Calgary.
“(Calgary firefighters) are into their third or fourth day of doing this and they’re going to be absolutely exhausted,” Edmonton fire Chief Ken Block said Sunday.
Edmonton firefighters offered to help on Friday; the call for assistance from Calgary came at 7 a.m. Sunday.
Block started making calls to assemble a crew. He had no shortage of firefighters willing to give up their plans on a Sunday afternoon to make the trip south.
The two cities’ fire departments have had a mutual agreement for eight years to assist each other in case of emergency. This is the first time it was put into effect.
Sixty firefighters left in a convoy of four buses, along with two pumper trucks, a rescue vehicle, a tanker, a hazmat unit and a mechanical support unit.
The firefighters were expected to remain in Calgary until Wednesday. If they need to stay longer, a fresh crew will replace them.
Twenty-eight Epcor employees in 11 vehicles also headed to Calgary on Sunday, said Epcor spokeswoman Michelle St-Amand.
“What we’re going down to do is to pump water out of the underground vaults,” StAmand said. “The primary focus right away is the downtown underground system, so that’s what we’ll be working on with Enmax.”
Mayor Stephen Mandel said Sunday he had been texting with Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and is willing to offer every possible support.
“We will send everybody we possibly can, as long as we are not leaving the City of Edmonton in jeopardy,” Mandel said.
Six Edmonton safety codes officers are in Calgary helping assess buildings in relation to access, salvage and occupancy. More may go later this week, the city said in a release.
More than 2,000 soldiers are helping with flood relief in southern Alberta, including Edmonton-based soldiers and members of the navy and air force, said a military spokeswoman.
The Edmonton police officers went to Calgary early on Friday, hours after a call for assistance came in, said police spokeswoman Clair Seyler.
“Our members had a very long two days assisting Calgary Emergency Services with public safety and security activities related to the evacuation, and provided relief for dozens of Calgary Police Service personnel,” Seyler said.
In Calgary, three days after rising river water forced tens of thousands from their homes, Nenshi said Sunday that mandatory evacuation notices were lifted for much of the city.
Many of the hardest hit neighbourhoods, including Inglewood, East Village and Mission, have portions still in the “red zone” — pockets where an estimated 10,000 residents must remain away.
The city also revealed that downtown could be operational with electricity restored as early as Tuesday.
Nenshi, however, urged downtown companies to tell their employees to stay home Monday and Tuesday.
The city said most of the core north of 17th Avenue South has been opened to allow building owners to assess their facilities. Once the assessments are complete, potentially by Monday, the city will do final evaluations before the area is fully opened to the public.
At this stage, about 90 to 95 per cent of buildings will be usable, said Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Bruce Burrell.
Nenshi said “isolated pockets” remain, where it will take weeks or even months to restore service, particularly in the east areas of downtown.
Across the city, as plans turned toward recovery, the devastation became evident.
On northbound Macleod Trail at 25th Avenue S.W., at least two lanes of pavement have collapsed. Tracks at the adjacent Erlton CTrain station are twisted.
In Inglewood, meanwhile, the area at 8th Avenue and 22nd Street S.E. has suffered significant erosion. Crews are trying to stabilize the scene, however, “part of the road is gone,” Nenshi said.
Water damage at Calgary’s arrest processing unit downtown also forced the relocation of 12 prisoners, Justice Minister Jonathan Denis said.
The prisoners were initially sent to the city’s remand centre, but that facility is “not a viable” option, particularly during weekdays when it’s most crowded.
The province plans to use holding cells at the Calgary Courts Centre “until further notice,” Denis said.
For students, Calgary’s public and Catholic schools are closed until Thursday and Grade 12 students were exempted from remaining diploma exams.
Across southern Alberta, challenges remain, but Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths said the situation is most dire in High River.
“Frankly, there’s tension down there. People are concerned. They’re hearing about other people being able to re-enter their communities or re-enter their homes and the processes that are going on,” Griffiths said.
“There is not a single home in High River that will not have to be inspected or has not been touched by this situation.”
About 80 per cent of that community of about 13,000 remains without power, he said.
According to the province, acute care patients from Drumheller hospital have been sent to facilities in Hanna, Stettler and Three Hills.
Alberta Health Services says the Black Diamond hospital has not been evacuated, however, patients have been triaged to prepare them to leave if necessary.
The floods have also displaced at least 1,300 residents in six southern Alberta First Nations communities.
“It’s very stressful. The worst I’ve ever seen, it’s devastating,” Siksika Nation Chief Fred Rabbit Carrier said in a news release. About 1,000 people have been forced out of Siksika, which is about 80 kilometres east of Calgary.
The Tsuu T’ina, the Stoney Nation and Kainai are also affected by the rising water in various degrees.