Flooding causes evacuations
No one knows when residents will be allowed to return home
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – Up to 15,000 Fort Mcmurray residents had been forced to leave their homes by Monday evening, the situation worsening during the pandemic after the rivers surrounding the city began flooding early Sunday morning.
For weeks, the municipality had been preparing for the possibility that the spring melt of the Clearwater and Athabasca Rivers would trigger flooding. Shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday, the river ice began breaking apart and eventually jammed, creating a blockage 25 kilometres long. Prevented from flowing downstream, the river began spilling into town.
Neighbourhoods adjacent to the rivers were initially put under voluntary evacuation orders, which soon switched to mandatory as the rivers kept rising. By Monday evening, all of downtown Fort Mcmurray, Draper, Waterways and the Taiga Nova Industrial Park were submerged or under evacuation orders.
A boil-water advisory had also been issued for all of Fort Mcmurray and the communities of Anzac, Fort Mcmurray First Nation #468, Gregoire Lake Estates and Saprae Creek Estates.
More than 5,000 people have registered at evacuation centres. Emergency crews have also per-formed more than 200 rescues in areas where people were ordered to leave.
“Our emergency response crews have been working night and day to help with our residents to get to those safe places,” said Fire Chief Jody Butz in a statement. “We will continue to do that, but I need all of our residents to pay attention to those mandatory evacuation orders.”
No one knows when residents will be able to return home.
“Mother Nature is indifferent,” said Chris Joyce, who was forced to leave his home in downtown Fort Mcmurray.
Like many other people living downtown, Joyce was not able to reach his home when an evacuation order was announced. A police roadblock and the floodwaters themselves prevented anyone from driving into the area. Instead, he parked his car on Highway 63 and walked into downtown, sidestepping the roadblocks.
“I know the drill. It’s not the first time we’ve had flooding,” said Ken Wadsworth, who was forced to leave his downtown basement apartment. “We’ll get through this … We’ll be OK.”
The prospect of how the evacuation of so many people could spread COVID-19 also weighed heavily on everyone’s minds.
The municipality began planning for the COVID-19 pandemic, including evacuations for flooding or wildfire incidents, in January. Anyone who is forced to leave will be provided with a place to stay after registering at one of two evacuation centres in the region.
“That odd feeling I felt four years ago when we had to evacuate because of the wildfire is that same old feeling again,” said Rodi Sartagoda, who was also leaving her downtown home with her husband and son. “This time, there’s that extra worry because we have the pandemic and now we have to go out from our homes.”
During her daily media update, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said evacuation centres will be enforcing social distancing measures and cleaning surfaces frequently. Volunteers and staff are also masked and wearing gloves.
“The combination of dealing with evacuations alongside COVID-19 is one that’s been discussed for several months,” she said. “We anticipated we would need to deal with some evacuations, whether that be for floods or for fires, as this particular time of year is a time where we often see these situations.”
After touring the flood areas on Monday, Premier Jason Kenney said the province will send more law enforcement personnel to help police in Fort Mcmurray.