A decade without her daughter: tragedy of the 2013 Calgary floods

A tree adorned with flowers branches out on the side of a now quiet waterway in High River, Alta. Ten years ago, it was anything but calm.

“It feels like yesterday. I’m in shock that it’s been ten years,” said Janie Pighin.

One decade ago Pighin’s daughter Jacqui Brocklebank died in the swollen water of the 2013 floods, her lifeless body was found not far from the tree Janie Pighin visits often.

“It will never be the same, there is always an empty chair at our table, no parent should ever have to go through this,” said Pighin.

Brockelbank had cerebral palsy but lived on her own. When the raging water began to pour into the streets of High River, she went to wake up a friend in the flood zone. Her friend survived, but Jacqui lost her life that day.

“She went into the flood to try and save someone, and she wasn’t strong enough to do that,” said Pighin  “I always say, she came into this world fighting and she went out a hero.”

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Five people died in the floods of 2013, and it’s been almost impossible for some to shake the trauma. But it’s not just the families who lost loved ones who have struggled: many who lost their homes and livelihoods battled anxiety years following.

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“I did my research in 2018 and what I found was the community was still reeling from the effects of the flooding event,” said Katie Hayes a researcher who studied the mental health impacts the disaster had on people in High River.

“There was still anxiety every time they crossed the bridge to come into town, every time it rained children hopped into bed with their parents, worried it would happen again. There was a lot of anxiety and eyes to the sky,” said Hayes.

Despite all the community has gone through, the town’s mayor said High River is in a much better place now thanks to mitigation work. Mayor Craig Snodgrass said protection levels are three times what they were before the disaster.

“That’s the biggest commitment that we made from day one, was safety and security in this town and we achieved that beyond even our wildest dreams,” said Snodgrass.

Janie Pighin is hopeful but not so certain another flood won’t impact the community again. She admits floods anywhere now bother her.

“When I see floods and see death in floods,  it’s the family that has to deal with that,” said Pighin.

Her hope is for the community to remember her daughter. The girl who would talk to anyone, the girl with such a big and brave heart she didn’t hesitate to help even at the cost of her own life.