Four people feared dead in flooding, RCMP says

An estimated 75,000 residents displaced

CA LGA ry • This city was swamped Friday by floodwaters that displaced tens of thousands of people and forced the evacuation of the downtown core, even as Mounties reported up to four people in flooded areas south of the city may have died.

“Get away from the river now!” a Calgary police officer in a helicopter bellowed to residents in the low-lying neighbourhood of Sunnyside as they surveyed torrents of water that invaded their homes and sent everything from garbage cans to cars floating away.

Communities throughout southern Alberta continued to fight a watery onslaught that began with torrential rains Wednesday night.

From Canmore and Banff in the mountain parks through to Calgary and points east, overflowing rivers continued to wash out roads and bridges, inundate homes and turn streets into dirt-brown tributaries thick with smashed trees and furniture.

About 250 mm of rain had fallen in the flood zone, the Bow river basin, and another 50 mm was expected Friday and 20 mm more on Saturday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper flew in from Ottawa and was on his way to tour the hardest-hit areas with Premier Alison redford. Ms. redford said Mr. Harper has already promised she’ll have Ottawa’s full support for rescue and recovery efforts.

An estimated 75,000 residents in 25 neighbourhoods along the Bow and elbow rivers had already been ordered out of their homes and, early Friday afternoon, that order was extended to the entire downtown. Office towers had been ordered closed before the high water took hold.

City officials confirmed water had swamped the interior of the Saddledome, home to the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Water turned the nearby Stampede grounds into a muddy lake, lapping at the roofs of the chuckwagon barns. Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the city still hopes to be ready for the Calgary Stampede, which begins in two weeks.

The flood was forcing emergency plans at the Calgary Zoo, which is situated on an island near where the elbow and Bow rivers meet. Zebras were moved to a wildlife conservation centre south of the city, but the rest of the animals remained for the time being.

Mr. Nenshi said water levels on the elbow river had crested and were slowly going down.

entire communities, including High river and Bragg Creek, near Calgary were under mandatory evacuation orders. The water washed out roads and bridges and flooded underpasses. Trains were run- ning over bridge decks just inches above the water line.

It was in the High river area were two men were seen floating lifeless in the Highwood river on Thursday, police said, but no bodies had been found as of Friday afternoon. They also said an area woman who was swept away with her camper had not been located.

And it wasn’t clear whether a man who was seen falling out of a canoe was able to climb back in.

In High river, it is estimated half the people experienced flooding in their homes.

Military helicopters plucked about 30 residents off rooftops. Others were rescued by boat. Some swam for their lives from stranded cars, while still more were ferried to safety in large dump trucks, frontend loaders and combines.

High river resident danielle Smith, leader of Alberta’s Opposition Wildrose party, posted on Facebook that she spent much of Thursday sandbagging at the hospital as floods swamped the town.

“rescued by some guys operating a manure spreader at about 7 p.m. We spent two hours picking up people from their homes. It was wild and frightening,” she wrote.

Ms. redford warned that communities downstream of Calgary were yet to feel the full force of the floodwaters.