Alberta flooding: Latest updates
- RCMP have confirmed three deaths
- The floods are already record-setting, hydrologists say
- Alberta has issued critical alerts for the following areas; find detailed alerts here: Banff, South of Twin Valley Reservoir, Calgary, Lethbridge County, Bragg Creek, Vulcan County, Foothills #31, Stoney Reserve #142 143 144, Turner Valley, High River, Black Diamond
- Communities that are being evacuated in and around Calgary, for most updated list click here:
Beltline, Bonnybrook, Bowness, Bridgeland, Chinatown/Eau Claire, Cliff Bungalow, Deer Run, Discovery Ridge, Douglasdale, Downtown/East Village, Elbow Park, Erlton, Inglewood, Hillhurst, Mission, Montgomery, Quarry Park, Rideau, Riverbend, Riverdale, Roxboro, Stanley Park/Elboya, Sunnyside, Victoria Park, Westmount/West Hillhurst, Windsor Park - Power has been shut off in evacuated communities
- Transit service in the core has been cancelled
- A large area south of Calgary has declared a state of emergency, with bridges and roads washed out in many towns.
Pictures and videos of flooding in Calgary, Canmore and southern Alberta
Alberta's largest city was swamped Friday by floodwaters that submerged much of the lower bowl of the Saddledome hockey arena, displaced tens of thousands of people and forced the evacuation of the downtown core.
Mounties confirmed that two bodies were recovered from the Highwood River near High River, Alta., and that another body has been spotted in the river but hasn't yet been recovered. None have been identified.
A woman who was reported missing after she was swept away with her camper into the Highwood River near Longview remains unaccounted for, while it wasn't clear whether a man who was seen falling out of a canoe was able to climb back in. Witnesses had also said they saw the bodies of two men floating down the river.
"Get away from the river now!" a police officer in a helicopter bellowed to residents in the low-lying Calgary neighbourhood of Sunnyside as they surveyed torrents of water that invaded their homes and sent everything from garbage cans to cars floating away.
Communities throughout southern Alberta continued to fight a watery onslaught that began with torrential rains Wednesday night.
From Canmore and Banff in the mountain parks through to Calgary and points east, overflowing rivers continued to wash out roads and bridges, inundate homes and turn streets into dirt-brown tributaries thick with smashed trees and furniture.
About 250 millimetres of rain had fallen in the flood zone, the Bow River basin, and another 50 mm was expected Friday and 20 mm more on Saturday.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper flew in from Ottawa to tour the hardest-hit areas with Premier Alison Redford.
"I've seen a little bit of flooding in Calgary before," he said. "I don't think any of us have seen anything like this."
Flanked by Redford and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, he said he knows residents are going through a "very difficult time" but "if we just encourage everybody to stay optimistic, stay patient, we'll get through this."
He and Redford said there will be funding available under provincial and federal disaster assistance programs.
Calgary was dealing with a double whammy of overflowing water from two rivers that run through the city and converge downtown.
An estimated 75,000 residents in 25 neighbourhoods along the rivers had been ordered out of their homes and, early Friday afternoon, that order was extended to the entire downtown. With evacuations from surrounding communities added in, the total number reached 100,000.
City officials confirmed water had swamped the interior of the Saddledome, home to the NHL's Calgary Flames.
"We have reports that — yes — it is up to the 10th row in the Saddledome and … I think that really paints a very clear picture of what kinds of volumes of water we are dealing with," said Trevor Daroux, the city's deputy police chief.
Water turned the nearby Stampede grounds into a muddy lake, lapping at the roofs of the chuckwagon barns. Nenshi said the city still hopes to be ready for the world-famous Calgary Stampede, which begins in two weeks.
In communities along the rivers, residents were left to wander and wade through streets waist-deep in water.
Mission resident Patty Thille, who lived in Halifax when Hurricane Juan hit in 2003, said her home is dry — astonishing, as it is only 100 metres from the Elbow river — but she has seen some amazing scenes.
At one point, she watched as a Jeep was swept down the street while firefighters nearby were rescuing a middle-aged man from a low-rise condo.
"We could watch it for probably about 100 metres, being swept down," she said, adding she didn't think anyone was inside. "It was tilted on its side and being washed away by the water.
About 1,500 evacuees were in emergency shelters, while the rest were with family or friends, said Nenshi.
The flood was forcing the implementation of emergency plans at the Calgary Zoo, which is situated on an island near where the Elbow and Bow rivers meet. Zebras were moved to a wildlife conservation centre south of the city, but the rest of the animals remained for the time being.
Schools and court trials were cancelled. Transit service in the core was not running. Traffic lights were out. Power and gas were shut off to affected areas, but some homes not in the water zone also lost utilities due to the way the system is set up.
There were long lineups and a run on bottled water at city grocery stores, even though the city has not issued a boil water order.
Nenshi said the flood situation was under control as much as it could be. He said water levels on the Elbow River had crested and were slowly going down but that levels on the Bow River — which he said looked like an ocean — would remain steady as long as conditions didn't change.
More than a dozen towns declared states of emergency.
Entire communities, including High River and Bragg Creek, near Calgary were under mandatory evacuation orders. The water washed out roads and bridges and flooded underpasses. Trains were running over bridge decks just above the water line.
High River was one of the hardest-hit areas. It is estimated half the people experienced flooding in their homes. In some houses, water was halfway up the front door.
Cheyenne Lowry tried to move her and her brother's belongings to the top floor of their home in High River, but the water was lapping at her front door. She and some friends fled to higher ground, only to become trapped by the advancing flood waters.
"I went upstairs and phoned my dad and said, 'if helicopters don't come, I love you. I'll try to see you when I see you.' I was bawling, my dad was on the other end of the phone. It was just disaster."
She was eventually rescued by a large loader truck and is one of just over 200 evacuees now sleeping on cots in the Blackie arena.
Military helicopters plucked about 30 residents off rooftops. Others were rescued by boat. Some swam for their lives from stranded cars, while still more were ferried to safety in large dump trucks, front-end loaders and combines.
Phone service was cut off and cellphone coverage was spotty.
Redford warned that communities downstream of Calgary were yet to feel the full force of the floodwaters.
In Lethbridge, officials said they expect rising waters to soon overwhelm bridge crossings.
Medicine Hat, in the province's southeast, declared a state of emergency. Officials expect the South Saskatchewan River to crest on Saturday.
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