Date of publication: June 14, 2022 • 26 minutes ago • 5 minutes reading • 7 Comments Municipal crews are building a stone on Memorial Drive NW next to the Bow River to protect the Sunnyside from possible flooding on Tuesday. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia
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Updated rainfall forecasts suggest Calgary will avoid land flooding from the ongoing flood, but there is still a “significant risk”.
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That’s according to Calgary Emergency Management Chief Sue Henry, who said the situation has improved overnight but that evacuation orders are still a possibility for some low-lying communities along the Bow River. . “From this morning, things look a little more positive than they did yesterday,” Henry told a makeshift meeting of the City Council’s emergency management committee on Tuesday morning. “We are not completely out of the forest. We still have a lot of work to do. But the forecast looks a little better, especially for the areas along the Bow River. ” Calgary is currently in a state of local emergency, which was declared on Tuesday in response to heavy rains that pose a risk of flooding in some parts of the city. The proclamation gives the city exceptional powers to deal with emergencies, including the ability for police and fire brigades to go door-to-door to alert residents to evacuation orders.
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Memorial Drive is closed between 10 St. NW and Edmonton Trail NE due to flood concerns on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia After continuous rain overnight, Henry said CEMA expects to see heavy rain by about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, a total of 25 to 35 millimeters between breakfast and that time. Thereafter, rainfall is expected to gradually decrease throughout the afternoon, until 6 p.m. Meanwhile, Environment Canada issued a wind warning for Calgary, with winds of up to 90km / h expected to start Tuesday afternoon and end overnight. The federal agency said wet ground from the rains could increase the risk of tree falls and warned that shingles and windows could be damaged by shingles. The Enmax municipal service reported power outages in several communities during the storm, mostly in northwestern neighborhoods. Calgary Transportation reported that some traffic lights in the city were blinking or empty and some fallen trees had been reported in the early afternoon.
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Calgary firefighters clear a tree that fell on Edgemont Blvd. NW as strong winds and rains hit the city on Tuesday. Gavin Young / Postmedia The water level in the Elbow River is expected to peak on Wednesday morning and is not considered to be at risk of flooding. In the Bow River, water will peak on Wednesday afternoon and could lead to some flooding. An additional forecast for the Bow River is expected this afternoon, at which point the city will determine if an evacuation order is necessary. Calgary Deputy Chief of Police Chad Tawfik said residents and businesses in Sunnyside and Bowness should be prepared to see police, search and rescue services or firefighters go door-to-door to alert residents. possible evacuation orders. He added that police and social services were talking to homeless Calgary residents in camps near the Bow River about the risk of flooding.
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The underpass under the 10 Street Bridge was closed due to flood concerns on Tuesday 14 June 2022. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia Henry said CEMA would seek to alert residents 26 hours before the high flow period if evacuations occur. “We try to give people as much time as we can without causing panic and the need to evacuate when not needed,” Henry said. “We are trying to have this additional forecast this afternoon and make the decision at this point in time.” Calgary Water Resources Director François Bouchard added that the Bow River is “close but below the threshold”, which would cause evacuation. Efforts to mitigate the city’s floods have already begun across Calgary, most notably with the construction of a temporary pier on Memorial Drive. This dam is 88 meters from clay near the 3rd NW road which is connected to an existing stone to the west.
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This temporary dam was erected with great care, Bouchart said, following the water flowing from this area west to the Sunnyside during the 2013 Calgary floods. City crews are building a walkway at Memorial Drive NW next to the Bow River to protect the Sunnyside from possible flooding on Tuesday. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia Memorial Drive is closed indefinitely between 10th Street NW and Edmonton Trail NE Officials say they are monitoring another meteorological system currently expected to hit Calgary on June 20, which could affect their decisions on when they will remove the temporary dam and reopen the road. Mike Bradfield lives in Sunnyside on 1st Avenue SW and his house was flooded several times during the 2013 flood. He said he and his neighbors are relieved that they seem to be avoiding floods after spending the last several days on the sidelines. He said the city needs to invest in permanent flood mitigation solutions, mainly increasing the height of the existing cantilever to cope with more severe flooding. He is pleased with the temporary clay stone created on Memorial Drive, but said it would not be necessary if the city had moved to strengthen the permanent stone as a precaution. “We are happy that they did it, but it is a symbol of their tragic failure to really do their job, the job they should have already done,” Bradfield said. Some low-altitude trails and park areas along the Bow River are also closed due to flood risk. A map of these closures can be found on the Calgary City website. The city also dropped the level of the Glenmore Reservoir in anticipation of the downpour.
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The city is also developing pumps in areas such as Sunnyside and Bowness as well as in some places on the Elbow River to reduce the risk of flooding, including water coming through sewers. Water levels in other low-lying areas, such as Bridgeland and Inglewood, have not reached the level required to start pumping water. Part of the reason for a more optimistic local flood forecast is due to some rainfall in the Rocky Mountains that falls like snow, Bouchart said. “The fact that we have snow instead of rain means that we are actually seeing a better situation than we expected,” he said. At least two evacuations have already taken place, in homes found to be in danger below McHugh Bluff, between Crescent Heights and Sunnyside. The city recently closed a hiking trail to the bluff at least until the fall of 2023 due to concerns about slope stability.
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Calgary residents are urged to call 311 to report floods in non-emergency situations. The path under the bridge of 10th Street is closed. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia Elsewhere, the Alberta Environment has issued numerous flood warnings, clocks and tips west of Calgary. They include flood warning for the Little Red Deer River and flood monitoring for the Bow River in Banff, Canmore and Exshaw and the tributaries upstream of the Calgary River. No impact is expected at Fish Creek at this time, as the county downgraded a flood warning to a high-flow warning. South of Calgary in Foothills County, emergency officials say several flood warnings have been downgraded to warnings, including in the city of High River. The area was among those hardest hit by the 2013 floods. “I think it brings back some bad memories from 2013, but at the same time, I think people also know they are better prepared since then,” said Darfne Roblin, director of Foothills County Emergency Services.
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“We are moving in the right direction at this point, so we are grateful for that, but it is always good to prepare for this worst-case scenario.” The Alberta River Prediction Center reported that as of 10:45 a.m. Around Tuesday, 60-80 mm of rain fell in areas with heavier rainfall, with locally higher amounts of up to 110 mm being recorded west of Calgary. They forecast additional rainfall of 20-30 mm on Tuesday, with possible “prolonged shower activity” on Wednesday. Both city and county officials are scheduled to provide further updates Tuesday afternoon. [email protected] Twitter: @jasonfherring
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