Calgary emergency management committee hears rain situation looking better
Calgary emergency officials and city councillors met early Tuesday morning for an update on the heavy rainfall and potential flooding.
On Monday, Mayor Jyoti Gondek declared a state of local emergency out of precaution. Doing so gives local emergency services the ability to go door to door to inform people they could be evacuated and access properties if necessary.Story continues below advertisement The Elbow River is expected to peak on Wednesday morning while the Bow River is expected to peak Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.
“The forecast is very encouraging, but we want to make sure that through an abundance of caution, that we continue on the track that we’re on,” Francois Bouchart, with City of Calgary Water Services, told committee.However, there remains concern about some of the city’s lower lying communities like Sunnyside and Bowness.
“There is a lot of nervousness from many Calgarians and that 2013 wasn’t that long ago for many of us,” Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner said.“We need to stay calm, we need to pay attention to the advisories that are coming, we need to support our neighbours and we need to be ready to move, if needed.”Henry said two homes in Sunnyside were evacuated on Monday night due to instability on the hillside and water runoff from the escarpment at McHugh Bluff.