WATCH: Homeowners in Chestermere have been hit twice in a week by nasty storms, and while neighbours are rallying to help, so far the province has not. Global’s Stefan Keyes reports.
CALGARY – Chestermere was hit with another hail and rain storm on Tuesday afternoon, and the city says it’s not sure exactly how many homes received more water after Sunday’s flash flood damage. Crews continued pumping flooded areas and unclogging storm drains on Wednesday, and worked to prepare for a forecast that includes more rain.
The city “urgently” asked residents to remove their vehicles from the street as of 12:30 p.m. so street sweeping crews could remove as much sediment as possible from the roads.
The city also asked affected residents to email their address, a description of the damage and any photos to flood@chestermere.ca, or call 403-207-7076 if they don’t have Internet access.
“We are asking residents to help provide us with this info so we more accurately track the impact the flood had on our community and share those statistics with the province,” said the city in a release, noting those who called 911 on Sunday or Tuesday do not need to call again.
The city was providing sandbags until 7 p.m. Wednesday and planned to provide them after 10 a.m. Thursday for anyone who wanted them. They will be available at the Public Works yard east of the Highway 1 overpass until the city runs out.
Fire and utility officials said most homes were able to keep their sump pumps working. The city said most of Tuesday’s flooding remained in city ponds, parks, and on the streets. A release from the city said emergency services received less than 10 calls of homes re-flooding, but acknowledged not everyone filed a flood report.
WATCH: Global viewer Jenny MacKay sent in this footage of Tuesday’s hail storm in Chestermere.
The president and COO of Chestermere Utilities (CUI) said his crews are doing everything they can to remove water from storm ponds as quickly as possible. He said crews worked 24 hours on Tuesday, and new staff were deployed on Wednesday.
“The ground is completely saturated and we are getting immediate runoff from the storms,” said Ray MacIntosh in a statement.
“In addition to those issues, the hail clogged many of the city’s storm drains. Municipal systems in Canada are simply not built to handle the kind of water we have been receiving over the last few days.”
The city said crews cleared all storm drains of debris on Tuesday and continue to monitor catch basins on Wednesday.
The Western Irrigation District has also been asked to continue dropping the level of Chestermere Lake to four inches below normal if another storm rolls through.
“We have asked them to lower levels to accept increased storm runoff should we get more precipitation,” said city spokesperson Megan Matthies in an email to Global News. “We apologize for the inconvenience to anyone wishing to use the lake for recreational purpose for the time being.”
The city offers these tips for people affected by flooding:
- Take photos and report damaged property to your insurance company
- Visit cuinc.ca for locations of garbage bins where you can put damaged items
- Call 403-207-7075 to book a free basement inspection for electrical, gas/plumbing and building
- Make sure power, gas and water systems are checked by a professional before using
- Call Synergy volunteers at 403-207-7099 if you need garbage pickup
If you would like to volunteer to assist with cleanup efforts, call Synergy not-for-profit organization at 403-207-7099.
For more information visit the city alert section here, sign up for text/email updates here, or visit Alberta Health Services flood recovery information pages here.
Watch below: Global Cameraman Paul MacEachern caught this footage while driving through a storm around Calgary Tuesday afternoon.
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