It has been quite week in our area. It is often mentioned that we live in an area of Western Canada where there are few disruptions in our way of life. This week has been the exception.
There has been an very heavy snow pack in the mountains this winter. Just last week, when hubby and I were travelling to the city, we noted that there was still so much snow on the mountains ... and wondered how long it would take to get rid of it this year. The last few days, we have had very heavy rainfalls, and yesterday was the beginning of the devestation when these two elements decided to "collide". FLASH FLOODS!
Several towns have been totally evacuated, portions of the main Trans Canada Hwy near Banff National Park have been washed out, railroad bridges have collapsed and the city of Calgary has been declared a national disaster.
Calgary has a population of over a million people, and today the downtown business area has been deserted, 75,000 people have been evacuated from the river valley, and it is still raining! I was born in this province, and we have never seen anything like it.
To add to the dilemma, the world famous Calgary Exhibition and Stampede is due to start in two weeks, and the entire grounds are under water. The Saddledome (arena and hockey pavilion that seats over 17,000 people) is filled with water to row 17 ... yikes! It is still under consideration as to whether the Stampede will open as planned! This will be interesting!
I started a photo album of pictures to share with family in Europe and am posting the link here too, if you would be interested. I will be adding more as I find them. Click on the title below ..
FLOODING IN THE ALBERTA FOOTHILLS
By the way, many of my friends here on The Hill have asked if we are doing OK this week ... they know that the main river flows through our Valley. We are doing well ... as we live on a bluff overlooking the valley. I took this picture from our back patio this morning. We can see more of the river now, especially since they had to open some of the slueces on the dam west of us, but there is no danger of us being flooded. Have a look ...
On second thought, if we see Noah's Ark floating down our valley, we may have to change our thinking about the possibility of flooding here!!!! Our neighbors who live by the river have told us that it is 8 ft higher than normal, and since the sleuces were opened, the roar of the river is an unfamiliar sound that woke them up at night.
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