Calgary floods: What you need to know now

View Calgary flood evacuation areas, road closures in a larger map

Tens of thousands of people in Calgary and surrounding areas remain out of their homes because of widespread flooding in Alberta this week, but some are back and pumping out basements. Here are some key developments:

Evacuation updates

• People in Hillhurst, Bridgeland, Discovery Park, Quarry Park, Deer Run, Douglasdale and Riverbend were allowed to return home Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, that list grew to include parts of West Hillhurst and Westmount.
• The city says homes must have both gas and electricity to be fit for habitation.

• Members of the Canadian Armed Forces will be bringing heavy equipment to the electrical substation in Douglasdale on Sunday to protect its integrity. It's a major substation, providing power to south Calgary, but there are worries about erosion from nearby floodwaters.

• Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the downtown core probably won't fully reopen until mid-week. Map of Calgary evacuation areas

For a comprehensive list of affected city services and evacuations, check the City of Calgary blog here.

Parts of the following neighbourhoods remain under mandatory evacuation orders:

• Beltline.
• Bonnybrook.
• Bowness.
• Chinatown/Eau Claire.
• Cliff Bungalow.
• Downtown/East Village.
• Elbow Park.
• Erlton.
• Inglewood.
• Mission.
• Montgomery.
• Rideau.
• Riverdale.
• Roxboro.
• Stanley Park/Elboya.
• Sunnyside.
• Victoria Park.
• Windsor Park.

The Canadian Red Cross is asking Calgarians looking to connect with family members who have been displaced to call 1-866-696-6484.

Shelters

Evacuees with no place to go will be provided with food, shelter, bedding and other essential services at one of these reception centres:

• Acadia Recreation Complex A, 240 90th Ave. S.E.
• Centre Street Church, 3900 2 St NE.
• Village Square Leisure Centre, 2623 56th St. N.E.
• Central Memorial High School, 5111 21 St. S.W.
• St. Francis High School, 877 Northmount Dr. N.W.
• The Southland Leisure Centre, located at 2000 Southland Dr. S.W.
• Canada Olympic Park/Winsport Lodging is now closed.

Check here to see which centres have lodging available

• William Aberhart High School at 3009 Morley Tr. N.W. and South Fish Creek Recreation Centre at 333 Shawville Blvd. S.E. are at capacity.

SAIT Polytechnic's residence buildings have also been opened to flooding evacuees.

Citizens placed in two-day accommodations have now been extended to three days.

People can take pets to the Animal Service Centre, at 2201 Portland St. S.E., or the Calgary Humane Society, at 4455 110th Ave S.E., if they can't find an alternative place for them.

All city recreation centres will be closed (except those being used as shelters) at least until end of the day Sunday.

Power outages

Just before noon on Friday the decision was made to evacuate many buildings downtown because of power outages. Compromised buildings — those without their own power source — were being cleared. That includes many offices towers, hotels and condominiums.

Enmax has a list of current outages affecting Calgary.

Weather

More rain is in the forecast for parts of southern Alberta with an additional 10 millimetres possible over the weekend, CBC meteorologist Danielle Savoni said.

The highest amounts are expected west of Calgary and just north of Canmore. Showers are also forecast for the weekend, she said.

Current weather conditions

Limit water use

City officials say water quality in Calgary has not been affected and there is no boil-water advisory in place at this time, but they are asking residents to limit water use. For example, avoid using dishwashers and washing machines and take quick showers and shallow baths.

"The very high river flows have resulted in high levels of silt and debris in the water coming into the city's drinking water treatment plants," said the city in a release.

"This silt is starting to slow down the treatment process, creating a growing load on the filtration processes. As a result, it is taking longer to treat the incoming water which presents a challenge to meet water demand."

Fire Chief Bruce Burrell says transformer stations downtown were inundated with water. If they had been left running, he said they would have blown up so they were taken off line before they were damaged.

Now full of water, officials believe they will still be operational once they are dried out and oiled back up.

They plan to build beams around the stations, pump out the water and let them dry — but that will take a number of days. But Burrell said they could be getting help as local construction companies are offering assistance.

Water levels, traffic and road closures

Burrell, who also heads Calgary's emergency management agency, said on Saturday that the Elbow River is slowly coming down, while the Bow is also seeing improvements.

The city is providing updates on road and bridge closures on its blog.

Calgarians can call 311 for any flood-related updates.

Looting concerns

Police Chief Rick Hanson says earlier reports Friday of looting have been checked out, but found to be false. He says there are huge numbers of officers patrolling the evacuated areas right now.

Hospitals

AHS says all emergency services departments in Calgary were open as of 10:30 p.m. MT Thursday, but the Sheldon M. Chumir Urgent Care Centre is closed and will remain closed until further notice.

AHS clinics at the Holy Cross building in Mission are closed. All appointments scheduled for Friday have been postponed. Cancer treatments at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in northwest Calgary are not affected.

Patients at the Agape Hospice and two continuing care sites in Calgary — Bowview Manor and BowCrest Centre — are being relocated.

For a list of which health-care centres are affected by flooding in other cities, including High River, Canmore and Sundre, click here: www.albertahealthservices.ca/8644.asp.

Transit

Calgary Transit is reporting several weather-related detours: www.calgarytransit.com/html/rainfall_detours.html.

C-Train service in the downtown core has been suspended. Trains 201 and 202 outside of the core have limited service.

As of Saturday, Calgary Transit made changes to the following routes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 18, 40, 72, 73, 112, B201, B202, 301, 405, 407 and 408.

For the latest on transit service, follow @calgarytransit or check for service updates at www.calgarytransit.com.

Emergency alerts

For a list of emergency alerts in Calgary and Alberta, check here: emergencyalert.alberta.ca/.

Bridge integrity

The city says it has a high degree of confidence in the structural integrity of local bridges, but they are asking pedestrians to stay off.

"At this time our bridges remain stable as they've been built on bedrock," said the city in a release.

Once the waters recede all bridges will undergo a comprehensive engineering evaluation, according to the city.

Cancelled events

All remaining concerts and events of the Sled Island music and arts festival have been cancelled. It was slated to wrap up on Saturday with a concert at Olympic Plaza.

"Our commitment to the safety of the citizens of Calgary remains paramount. Please take care of your friends and family who may require assistance and stay safe," according to the Sled Island website.

The festival's office in Mission has been evacuated and organizers are asking for patience from ticket and pass holders.

Events cancelled:

• Banff Marathon.
• Sled Island music and arts festival.
• First Street Market Walk.
• Go Skateboarding Day.
• Wing Kei Walkathon.
• Allied Memorial Remembrance Ride.
• Remington Race for Pace 2013.
• Aboriginal Awareness Week.
• Enbridge Ride To Conquer Cancer.
• Relay For Life in Calgary and Medicine Hat.
• MEC Paddlefest.
• CBC's auditions for Recipe to Riches at Deerfoot Meadows Superstore.
• United Way and UPS Plane Pull is postponed.

Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, on Saturday said officials still hope the water will have receded to the point where there's time to go ahead with the Calgary Stampede as planned, on July 5.

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