Severe Flooding in Alberta (Canada)
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 7:41 am
I'm not sure if this story has been mentioned much overseas but thought I'd share it with you all if you hadn't heard.
My hometown of Calgary (where my family still resides) was flooded after a week of substantial rain caused the river systems running through the city to massively overflow. In a city of 1million plus people, over 100,000 were evacuated; many, many people had their homes & property destroyed. Fortunately my family lives in parts of the city that were unaffected; however many (including some friends) have lost a great deal. Small towns nearby such as High River (pop. 13,000) and Canmore (pop. 12,000) have been significantly destroyed.
The destruction also hit our hockey arena (a site of many events during the 1988 Olympics). The bowl-shaped arena has flood water up past row 10(!) and I believe almost all of the memorabilia has been destroyed. The locker rooms are completely submerged. Obviously very minor compared to the loss of homes and property for many families, but it goes to show you the insane extent of the devastation.
Many people will not have their homes covered by insurance as flooding is not covered by most policies. The city's downtown, evacuated days ago, is without power and is expected to not be accessible until midweek. It's all very surreal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NObJReIIus8 <-here's a video of a house floating away
http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/bef ... ta-floods/ <-before/after comparisons
If anyone wants to donate to relief efforts, http://www.redcross.ca/donate/donate-on ... rta-floods
My hometown of Calgary (where my family still resides) was flooded after a week of substantial rain caused the river systems running through the city to massively overflow. In a city of 1million plus people, over 100,000 were evacuated; many, many people had their homes & property destroyed. Fortunately my family lives in parts of the city that were unaffected; however many (including some friends) have lost a great deal. Small towns nearby such as High River (pop. 13,000) and Canmore (pop. 12,000) have been significantly destroyed.
The destruction also hit our hockey arena (a site of many events during the 1988 Olympics). The bowl-shaped arena has flood water up past row 10(!) and I believe almost all of the memorabilia has been destroyed. The locker rooms are completely submerged. Obviously very minor compared to the loss of homes and property for many families, but it goes to show you the insane extent of the devastation.
Many people will not have their homes covered by insurance as flooding is not covered by most policies. The city's downtown, evacuated days ago, is without power and is expected to not be accessible until midweek. It's all very surreal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NObJReIIus8 <-here's a video of a house floating away
http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/bef ... ta-floods/ <-before/after comparisons
If anyone wants to donate to relief efforts, http://www.redcross.ca/donate/donate-on ... rta-floods