Alberta Flooding

As briefly mentioned in my last post, I talked about the devastating flooding that has taken place in Southern Alberta since last Thursday. While I plan on talking about my own personal experience with the flooding, I certainly recognize that my family and I have been EXTREMELY lucky in comparison to other families who's lives have been devastated by these events. Over the course of the last few days, over 100,000 people have been forced from their homes - not knowing what kind of state their house will be in when they return. While we were evacuated, our house was not damaged in any way.

(Submerged cars in High River, Alberta)

Waking up Thursday morning, I could not have imagined the tragedy and misfortune that our Province was set to experience. A state of Local Emergency was declared Thursday morning with six communities initially placed under mandatory evacuation. Later on that evening another eight communities were evacuated, with new communities being added to that list with what seemed to be hourly. Sure enough my own community of Deer Run was added to that list at midnight - cop cars lined our street and went knocking door to door telling everyone to leave their homes. So we packed up our things, and headed to my sister's condo (two large dogs in tow). Needless to say, none of us had any sleep that night wondering about the state of our home.

(A sign by the river close to our house, taken by me hours before we were evacuated)

Yesterday afternoon our power was restored, and the evacuation notice was lifted for my community. While we were lucky, our house was left virtually untouched by flood water, many houses in and around Southern Alberta were not. My heart goes out to the individuals who's houses have been damaged, and who remain unable to return to their homes. It warms my heart to hear stories of the hero's who have been helping our communities. From simple acts like having friends send us dinner when we were left without power, to individuals donating generators, pumps, and fans to communities without electricity. I cannot also forget to mention the individuals who have opened their homes to complete strangers - giving people who have lost so much a place to rest their head.

(Police keeping our streets safe overnight)

Our Mayor Naheed Nenshi tweeted Friday night, "Know that we'll get through this together. The spirit of Calgary has never burned more brightly". The public servants who have been working day and night to restore our city cannot be thanked enough. To the police officer who personally knocked on our door, to the  thousands of other police officers, firefighters, military members, health care workers, and everyday citizens who have joined hands in restoring our city to what it once was. I know I speak for all of Alberta when I send our sincerest gratitude your way. It gives me goosebumps to see how worldwide communities have been contributing to the tragedy here in Alberta. The Red Cross alone has raised 2.1M so far to help with relief and rebuilding efforts (please see below on how you can donate).

(a personal photo taken of the Bow River by our house)

Our Mayor, Nayeed Nenshi, has been an exceptional leader in this time of crisis. He has amazingly maintained a calm, steady manner when the city he is leading has been taken from him by forces beyond anyone's control. And a midst all of this chaos, sadness and desperation - our Mayor has been able to make us laugh. 

While over 65, 000 people were allowed to return to their homes as of this morning - our neighbors south of us in Medicine Hat are bracing themselves for the worst. With the Saskatchewan River expecting to crest Monday morning, approx. 10, 000 more people have been evacuated from their homes. Our thoughts are with you.

(A bridge destroyed by the flooding)

To those of you not familiar with the Calgary Stampede -we call it 'the greatest show on earth'. Once a year in early July Calgarian's don their cowboy boots and rock their best Canadian Tuxedo for 10 days of debauchery and celebrations. With this years Stampede set to start July 4th (a mere 12 days away) Calgarian's cannot help but wonder if in fact, the show will go on. The grounds where we hold our beloved Stampede remains totally submerged in water - as well as most of our downtown area. With all of the tragedy and sadness that has occurred over the past 4 days we are in need of something to boost our spirits. And what a better way to do that than with our friends, family, and tourists from all over the world. While it may not look the same, there is no doubt in my mind that the city will ensure Calgary will in fact have something to celebrate. As Mayor Nenshi stated, "We're Calgarians. We're going to make it work". The Stampede is a symbol of patriotism to our city/country, and a uniting of friends/family for a beer in celebration of our wonderful home we call Calgary, Alberta.

(The Calgary Stampede grounds/Saddledome - the center of our annual Stampede)

I'd like to thank all my family/friends who have offered up their homes to my family. Words cannot express the gratitude we have for all the love and kindness that has been sent our way.

What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. This quote could not be more true for southern Albertan's right now. Over the next few weeks I look forward to reading amazing stories of heroism and bravery - and of communities facing this tragedy together. Thank you for reading!

To donate to the Canadian Red Cross please call 1-800-418-1111 or go online to www.redcross.ca.

Text 30333 to automatically donate $5 to flood relief