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Floods threaten Southern Alberta - again

by ppeggy | May 25, 2008 at 07:14 am

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The fact is that the Elbow River gets pretty mean every year about this time from snow run-off in the mountains and normal rain-fall. But every once in a while, things get out of hand, causing widespread damage in many Southern Alberta communities. The last time was in 2005. I was living in Bragg Creek at the time and it was pretty scary. The waters were so high, they actually changed the course of the river in several places. It looks like conditions are much the same this year. All those multi-million dollar homes in the posh areas along the river in Calgary better get out their insurance policies again.

The Town of High River declared a state of emergency at 8 p.m. and just after 11 people were sandbagging homes in Wallaceville.

The Elbow River and other watercourses raged in southern Alberta Saturday as rain pelted down all day.

Residents of Bragg Creek were bracing themselves as rain and snowmelt made the Elbow an ornery river.

Low-lying communities south of Calgary were poised for flooding as well. High River in the south and Hidden Valley Golf Resort east of Calgary are expected to be hard hit today, with Environment Canada predicting riverbanks could overflow early this morning.

Calgary and its surrounding areas have received up to 55 millimetres of rain since Wednesday. An additional 20 mm are expected in the next two days, with rain tapering off late Monday.

Late Saturday, Calgary's fire department issued a flood warning for the Elbow River, advising residents to stay clear of the banks and offering a list of what to do in case of flooding.