I sit in the Explorer and listen to the news...it's pretty grim. All of downtown Calgary has been evacuated. Many other surrounding communities have been evacuated as well...75,000 people so far...expected to top 100,000. The Bow and Elbow rivers crested in the early morning, but the flow and water levels are still high. Many of the downtown streets (and the cars parked on them) are under water.
The level of preparedness of the local authorities is remarkable. They have planned well for all of this. Evacuations are orderly...shelters have been set up. They even had the foresight to shut down the downtown transformers...when the flood waters recede, the transformers will just need to be cleaned rather than be replaced. Extra RCMP officers, as well as army troops, are en route from Edmonton...but there is no panic...no looting...everything very orderly and organized. I wonder why we ("we" meaning the United States) can't be as well prepared for natural disasters? Why does Canada have a perfectly executed plan, and we get ..."Brownie, you're doing a helluva job"???
A few rumors get circulated. One has animals escaping from the zoo with "big cats" prowling around city hall. The CBC radio folks debunk these rumors pretty quickly.
Many roads and bridges are closed. There is no way for us to get to Banff or Jasper because of flooding and mudslides.
But around 10:00 or so, Bill and I are able to drive five or six miles closer to the city to reach a Home Depot and a WalMart where we pick up some supplies. We stop for lunch at a small Vietnamese restaurant for big bowls of Pho...spicy broth, noodles and lots of beef...very satisfying on a cold and rainy day. After lunch, we head over to the northwest corner of the city to stop at Bon Ton Meat Market...a wonderful place with great cuts of beef, lamb, pork, etc. We pick up two huge AAA Alberta Sterling Beef steaks for dinner. We just hope the rain will stop so that we can grill them later.
Back at the campground, the Alberta Department of Health has sent out inspectors to look at the retention ponds which are now filled to capacity. The campground manager has to call in some pump trucks to take away some of the water. We are notified that we may have to evacuate the campground entirely. In the end, we are allowed to stay, but they have shut down the showers, toilets and laundry.
Around 6:00PM, the skies start to clear, and the sun finally comes out. That's something that we haven't seen for days. So...we have a few cocktails...grill up our steaks with some fried potatoes...pop open a nice red wine blend from California.
After dinner, cousin Bill and I review our options...they are pretty limited. We can hang around Calgary for awhile to see if the roads to Banff open...but they are saying on the radio that that will probably take days. Our other alternative is to head north and west...up through Edmonton to reach Dawson Creek which is Mile 0 on the Alaskan Highway. We can always visit Banff/Jasper on our way back south from Alaska.
Meanwhile, Bill's camper has sprung a few leaks. We tried caulking, but it's too wet for the caulk to dry and make a good seal. Also too wet for duct tape. In the end, we use some small "doggie pads" that Bill has brought along for Kechi. These pads are good enough to get through the night...we can do a better repair job tomorrow in Edmonton.
After dinner, we have a few beers and listen to the CBC news. Calgary had serious floods in 1998 and 2005, but they are saying that this one is, by far, the worst. At least three people, maybe four, have died. Today's rainfall broke the all-time record set back in 1964.
Around 11:00, we head off to bed under clear skies...no more rain.
Tomorrow, we're getting out of here.
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