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“However, I want to remind everyone that the weather is very dynamic and the conditions on the river can change very, very quickly.”
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June 14, 2022 • 14 minutes ago • 5 minutes reading • 9 comments City teams are building a berm on Memorial Drive NW along Bow River Road to protect Sunnyside from possible flooding on Tuesday. Azin Ghaaffari / Postmedia
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Calgary is likely to dodge evacuation orders and landslides due to heavy rains this week, city emergency officials say.
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Calgary Water Director Francois Bouchart said the flood ended up being less severe than worrying, leaving Bow and Elbow river levels significantly below the upper limits of what officials had projected.
“We are very optimistic about the results and what will unfold over the next day and a half when we see these peaks flowing through the city,” Bouchart said, adding that any additional rain in the city after Tuesday afternoon was “expected to affect flood forecasts.
“I want to remind everyone, however, that the weather is very dynamic and the conditions on the river can change very, very quickly.”
Memorial Drive closed between 10 p.m. NW and Edmonton Trail NE due to flooding on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia
The head of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, Sue Henry, echoed those comments, saying the city “was not yet out of the woods.” But it was an improved forecast in the early hours of the morning, when officials would not rule out possible evacuations to the northwest communities of Bowness and Sunnyside.
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The local state of emergency remains in effect for Calgary. The statement gives the city exceptional powers to deal with emergencies, including allowing police and firefighters to go door-to-door to inform residents of evacuation orders.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Environment Canada had issued a wind warning for Calgary, with winds of up to 90 km / h hitting the city all afternoon. The federal agency said wet ground due to rain could increase the risk of trees falling and warned of possible damage to roof tiles and windows.
The wind warning ended shortly after 4 p.m.
Calgary firefighters cleared a tree that fell on Edgemont Blvd. NW when strong winds and rain affected the city on Tuesday. Gavin Young / Postmedia
Public company Enmax reported power outages to several communities during the windstorm, mostly in the Northwest neighborhoods, and said additional equipment was working to restore service.
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Calgary Transportation said some traffic lights in the city were blinking or blank and that some fallen trees had been reported in the early afternoon. The felled trees kept firefighters busy throughout the city, and officials called on Calgar residents to call 311 to report the fallen trees to public property.
Elbow river water levels were expected to rise on Tuesday evening and were not thought to pose any risk of flooding. The peak of the Bow River was expected on Wednesday morning, and the city said it expects to be able to manage the flows without any localized flooding.
Henry said Tuesday afternoon that he was not aware of any reports of flooding from the basement at the time.
The underpass of the road under the 10th Street Bridge was closed due to flooding problems on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia
Some of the city’s flood mitigation efforts took place in Calgary, most notably the construction of a temporary berm on Memorial Drive. This barrier is 88 meters of clay near 3rd Street NW that connects to an existing berm in the west, and construction was expected to be completed on Tuesday afternoon.
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This temporary barrier was erected as a precaution, Bouchart said, following water flowing from this area west to Sunnyside during the 2013 Calgary floods.
Memorial Drive is closed indefinitely between 10th Street NW and Edmonton Trail NE Officials said they are monitoring another weather system that is currently expected to arrive in Calgary on June 20, which could affect their decisions about when to remove the berm. temporary and reopen the road.
City teams are building a berm on Memorial Drive NW along Bow River Road to protect Sunnyside from possible flooding on Tuesday. Azin Ghaaffari / Postmedia
Mike Bradfield lives in Sunnyside, 1st Avenue SW, and had his home flooded several times during the 2013 flood.
He said he and his neighbors are relieved because it looks like they will dodge the floods after spending the last few days on the shore. He said the city needs to invest in permanent flood mitigation solutions, mainly by increasing the height of the existing berm to make it more resistant to severe flooding.
He is pleased with the temporary clay berm installed on Memorial Drive, but said it would not have been necessary if the city had moved to proactively strengthen the permanent berm.
“We’re glad they did, but it’s a symbol of their abject failure to actually do their job, the job they should have already done,” Bradfield said.
Some lowways and park areas along the Bow River are also closed due to the risk of flooding; A map of these closures can be found on the Calgary City Council website. The city also lowered the level of the Glenmore Reservoir in anticipation of the downpour.
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The city also deployed bombs in areas such as Sunnyside and Bowness, as well as in some parts of the Elbow River to mitigate the risk of flooding, including water coming through storm sewers. Water levels in other low-lying areas such as Bridgeland and Inglewood have not reached the threshold needed to start pumping water.
Part of the reason for the more optimistic local flood forecast was due to some precipitation in the Rocky Mountains that fell like snow, Bouchart said.
“The fact that we have snow that has fallen instead of rain has meant that we are really seeing a better situation than we had anticipated,” he said.
At least two evacuations had taken place, in homes identified as dangerous below McHugh Bluff, between Crescent Heights and Sunnyside. Recently, the city closed a walkway to the cliff until at least the fall of 2023 due to slope stability issues.
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Boating and other river activities are currently prohibited, and Calgary firefighters said they had not had to make any rescues.
Water had accumulated on some roads in the city, forcing diversions and lane closures. The city closed Bowness Park, St. Patrick’s Island, and Prince’s Island Park from 4 p.m., which officials described as a proactive decision as they continue to monitor water levels. .
Calgar residents are asked to call 311 to report flooding in non-emergency situations.
There were no early estimates of the cost of responding to the disaster Tuesday afternoon, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said. Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said the province has set aside $ 1 billion in its 2022 budget for municipal disasters and emergency assistance.
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The road under the 10th Street Bridge has been closed. Azin Ghaaffari / Postmedia
Elsewhere, Alberta Environment issued numerous warnings, warnings and flood warnings in western Calgary. These include flood warning for Little Red Deer River and high flow warnings for Bow River in Banff, Canmore and Exshaw, and tributaries of the upstream Calgary River. No impact was expected on Fish Creek.
In South Calgary, Foothills County, emergency officials said several flood warnings have been downgraded to warnings, including in the city of High River. The area was one of the hardest hit by the 2013 floods.
“I think it brought back some bad memories of 2013, but at the same time, I think people also know I’m better prepared than I was then,” said Foothills County Director of Emergency Services Darlene Roblin.
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“We’re moving in the right direction right now, so we’re grateful for that, but it’s always good to prepare for the worst case scenario.”
Flood mitigation work was carried out throughout Tuesday in west Calgary. In Cochrane, officials pumped water that flooded Co-op Cardlock Station. Banff crews installed temporary dams on city streets as a barrier to protect the home from rising water.
The Alberta River Forecast Center said at 3 p.m. west of Calgary.
An additional 20-30 mm of rain was forecast for the rest of Tuesday, with possible “persistent rain activity” on Wednesday.
jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring
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