Floods Hit Canada’s Calgary Power Supply, Outages Could Last for Months

Floods that have inundated Canada's oil capital of Calgary over the weekend have severely affected power lines so much that authorities warned power outages could be experienced for months.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has allowed some 65,000 Calgarians to go and inspect and self-assess their homes, or rather what's left of it after the massive flood surge. However, he clarified that complete downtown power restoration is uncertain to begin in the next few days. It could even take months for it to be fully restored.

Calgary is home to Canada's biggest energy companies.

Although evacuation orders have been lifted, officials advised people to continue to take extra precaution.

"We have a situation across southern and particularly south-west Alberta of intense saturation, which means 20 millimetres (0.8 inch) of rain that would typically be absorbed could cause massive flooding and run-off," Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths told a news conference.

"Please do not assume because the clouds have cleared and the streets are not flooded with water it is perfectly safe to move back into your community."

Floods Hit Canada’s Calgary Power Supply, Outages Could Last for Months

Authorities advised residents to first proceed to the following re-entry information centres to get a checklist that will help them as they self-assess the livability conditions of their homes:

Cliff Bungalow/Mission: 2201 Cliff St. S.W.
Montgomery: 5003 16th Ave. N.W.
Bowness: 7904 43rd Ave. N.W.
Sunnyside - 1320 Fifth Ave. N.W.
Roxboro/Rideau Park/Parkhill: 4013 Stanley Rd. S.W.
Elbow Park: 800 34th Ave. S.W.
Ramsay Community Centre: 1136 Eighth St. S.E.
Windsor Park: 5304 Sixth St. S.W.
Westmount - Louise Dean School: 120 23rd St. N.W.
Bridgeland: 917 Centre Ave. N.E.
Bonnybrook - Ogden Legion: 2625 78th Ave. S.E.

Anxious Wait

While the floodwaters have receded in some parts of southern Alberta, the residents of the city of Medicine Hat anxiously awaits the potential burst of the South Saskatchewan River. Authorities have lined up sandbags, predicting it will reach its peak on Monday morning at 6,000 cubic metres per second.

About 10,000 people have been evacuated in Medicine Hat. Local officials lead by city mayor Norm Boucher expect the flood to breach the 1995 record.

"We don't want to anticipate the worst, but we're going to be prepared for the worst," Alberta Premier Alison Redford said. "We know that, from what we've seen everywhere else, that this is more exceptional than we've ever seen in Alberta before, so we're presuming that that's probably the circumstance that we're looking at (in Medicine Hat) as well."

Shelters Available in Calgary

The following shelters, which have food, bedding and other essential services, have been made available to evacuees whose homes have been totally destroyed by the floods:

Acadia Recreation Complex A, 240 90th Ave. S.E.
Village Square Leisure Centre, 2623 56th St. N.E.
Central Memorial High School, 5111 21 St. S.W.
Southland Leisure Centre, located at 2000 Southland Dr. S.W.
St. Francis High School, 877 Northmount Dr. N.W. (registration only, no onsite lodging)
Centre Street Church, 3900 2 St N.E. (registration only, no onsite lodging)
South Fish Creek Recreation Centre at 333 Shawville Blvd. S.E. is at capacity.
Canada Olympic Park/Winsport Lodging is now closed.

Damages

Officials estimate the damages caused by the murky brown floodwater to homes and roads and bridges in Calgary may have surpassed the $400 million worth of damage that the same province experienced in 2005.

"We are not through the crisis yet," Ms Redford said.

The June 2013 floods in Calgary, a city of 1.1 million, had displaced more than 100,000 residents.