Date of publication: June 14, 2022 • 14 minutes ago • 5 minutes reading • 9 Comments Municipal crews are building a stone along Memorial Drive NW next to the Bow River to protect the Sunnyside from possible flooding on Tuesday. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia
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Calgary is likely to avoid evacuation orders and land floods from this week’s heavy rainfall, city emergency officials say.
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Speaking Tuesday afternoon after heavy rainfall was reduced, Calgary Water Resources Director François Bouchard said the flood had turned out to be less severe than it was worrying, leaving Bow and Elbow levels significantly below the upper levels. limits set by the officials. “We are very optimistic about the results and what is going to unfold over the next day and a half as we see these peaks flowing through the city,” Bouchart said, adding that there was no additional rain in the city after Tuesday afternoon. . is not expected to affect flood forecasts. “I want to remind everyone, however, that the weather is very dynamic and conditions on the river can change very, very quickly.” Memorial Drive is closed between 10 St. NW and Edmonton Trail NE due to flood concerns on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Sue Henry echoed those comments, saying the city “was not yet out of the woods.” But it was an improved forecast from earlier in the morning, when officials did not rule out possible evacuations in the northwestern communities of Bowness and Sunnyside.
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A local state of emergency remains in place for Calgary. 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. Meanwhile, Environment Canada issued a wind warning for Calgary on Tuesday, with winds of up to 90km / h pounding the city throughout the afternoon. 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 wind warning expired shortly after 4 p.m. 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 Enmax municipal service reported power outages in several communities during the storm, mostly in northwestern neighborhoods, and said additional crews were working to restore services.
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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. The demolished trees kept fire crews busy throughout the city, and officials asked Calgarians to call 311 to report fallen trees on public property. The water level in the Elbow River was expected to peak on Tuesday afternoon and was not considered to be at risk of flooding. The Bow River peak was expected Wednesday morning, with the city saying it expects to be able to manage flows without local flooding. Henry said Tuesday afternoon that he did not know of any reports of flooding in the basement at the time. The underpass under the 10 Street Bridge was closed due to flood concerns on Tuesday 14 June 2022. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia Some efforts to mitigate the city’s floods were made throughout Calgary, most notably the construction of a temporary pier on Memorial Drive. This dam is 88 meters from clay near the 3rd NW road that is connected to an existing stone to the west and the construction was expected to be completed late on Tuesday.
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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. 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. 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 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 withstand 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 has also developed pumps in areas such as Sunnyside and Bowness as well as parts of the Elbow River to reduce the risk of flooding, including rainwater. 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 the more optimistic forecast for local floods was due to some rainfall in the Rocky Mountains that was falling 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 were carried out 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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Boating and other activities on the river are currently banned and Calgary fire crews said they had not had to make any rescue. Water had accumulated in some streets of the city, forcing the bypasses and closing the lanes. The city closed Bowness Park, St. Patrick’s Island and Prince’s Island Park from 4 p.m., which officials described as a precautionary measure as they continue to monitor the water level. Calgary residents are urged to call 311 to report floods in non-emergency situations. There were no early estimates of the cost of dealing with the disaster on Tuesday afternoon, Calgary Mayor Giotti Godek said. Alberta Environment and Parks Secretary Jason Nixon said the county had allocated $ 1 billion in its 2022 budget for municipal disasters and emergency assistance.
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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. These include the Little Red Deer River Flood Warning and the high-flow Bow River Warning at Banff, Canmore and Exshaw, and the Calgary Upstream tributaries. No impact on Fish Creek was expected. South of Calgary in Foothills County, emergency officials said several flood warnings had 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.” Flood relief work took place west of Calgary all Tuesday. In Cochrane, officials pumped water that flooded Co-op Cardlock. Banff crews set up temporary dams on city streets as a barrier to protect homes from water. The Alberta River Forecasting Center said that at about 3 a.m. Tuesday, 60-80 millimeters of rain fell in areas with heavier rainfall, with locally higher amounts of up to 110 millimeters being recorded west of Calgary. They forecast additional rainfall of 20-30 mm for the rest of Tuesday, with possible “prolonged shower activity” on Wednesday. [email protected] Twitter: @jasonfherring
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