The extent of the Calgary flooding has surprised me. And I didn't know that it has happened a number of times. Thoughts, hopes and best wishes are with the people of Calgary ...
Saturday » June 22 » 2013
Alberta flooding history
Calgary Herald
Friday, June 21, 2013
? CALGARY (June 1897) Bow River rises about five metres turning downtown into a lake, washing out bridges, short-circuiting electricity and cutting Canadian Pacific's line to Vancouver.
? CALGARY (June 1915) The Bow washes away Centre Street Bridge, nearly drowning two city officials. Sheep Creek floods Okotoks and cuts gas mains, leaving Calgarians without cooking fuel.
? CALGARY (June 1923) The Elbow River breaks the 1915 record by 20 centimetres when it rises to 2.9 metres. The Bow River, though it rises 1.5 metres above normal, is still about .6 metres under the 1915 record height.
? CALGARY (June 1929) Bow, Elbow and Highwood rivers overflow to submerge High River as well as southwest and northwest city districts under a metre of muddy water. It takes a heavy toll on zoo animals.
? CALGARY (June 1932) On June 1, 1932, Calgary receives 79.2 mm over a 24-hour period, just .6 mm less than the average rainfall for the whole month. The empty reservoir of the recently completed Glenmore Dam prevents major damage.
? CANMORE (February 1937) Ice jams cause the Bow River to flood, dousing heating plants and forcing families to scramble for their lives in -20C temperatures.
? CALGARY (January 1942) Backed up by an ice jam, the Bow River overflows into Sunnyside.
? HIGH RIVER (May 1942) The town lies under two metres of water after rains swell the Highwood River, forcing evacuation of homes.
? CALGARY (November 1945) Frigid water inundates the Hillhurst area due to ice jams, prompting an investigation of flood control improvements.
? CALGARY (November 1946) Zookeepers evacuate animals from St. George's Island to escape a flood caused by ice jams.
? CALGARY (March 1947) Rapid thaw of heavy spring snow swells rivers, soaks Hillhurst and Sunnyside.
? CALGARY (January 1948) Ice jams send frigid water from the Bow spilling over into Chinatown and Sunnyside.
? CARDSTON (April-June 1948) Two men drown in Cardston and 2,000 residents of nearby Pincher Creek flee homes.
? CALGARY (December 1950) Nearly 3,000 residents are forced to abandon their houses, apartments and hotel rooms in -30C degree temperatures when ice jams the Bow.
? MEDICINE HAT (March 1951) Six bombs dropped by military aircraft fail to clear an ice jam on the South Saskatchewan River, which floods homes.
? LETHBRIDGE (June 1953) The Oldman River, swollen to levels six metres above normal, washes away houses, forces neighbourhoods to be evacuated, cuts rail lines and short-circuits electricity supplies.
? FORT MACLEOD (June 1975) A 20-year-old man from Standoff, on the nearby Blood Indian Reserve, is swept away and drowned in the Oldman River, which is sent over its banks by rain and melting mountain snow.
? CALGARY (August 1990) Freak, "one-in-50-years" rainstorms hit twice in two nights in the northwest districts of Dalhousie, Charleswood and Brentwood, flooding basements and marooning cars.
? SOUTHERN ALBERTA (June 1995) An estimated 500 people from Calgary to the U.S. border are evacuated. Waterton Lakes National Park closes and all tourists are evacuated. In Calgary, two pedestrian bridges are washed away as is the warning boom above the weir. The Leth-bridge sewage treatment plant is flooded, dumping raw sewage into the Oldman River, which is flowing as much as 100 times its normal amount.
? HALKIRK (east of Red Deer) (June 3, 1996) 175 mm of rain falls in one hour, wiping out crops and roads, and popping the lids off manholes.
? SOUTHERN ALBERTA (June 2005) Three floods swamp basements, mangle bridges and tear apart roads, pathways and parks. In their wake, four lives are lost.
Rain-swollen rivers burst their banks, flooding numerous southern Alberta towns and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. In Calgary, one in 10 homes reported damage and 14 municipalities were forced to declare states of emergency. Rainfall for the month in Calgary measured 247.6 mm, more than three times the normal of 79.8 mm.