2 years after catastrophic flood, northern Alberta hamlet reckons with repairs and relocation

It was early in the morning of April 27, 2020, when the Peace River, blocked by chunks of ice, started rising quickly in the northern Alberta hamlet of Fort Vermilion. 

Soon it was rushing toward buildings near the river banks. As it approached their front steps, Charles LaForge and Lucille Labrecque fled to a family member's house on higher ground.

For years, the century-old log building had been home to the couple and their businesses. Their nine-hole golf course and mini-putt courses, still covered in snow, had not yet opened for the season but their restaurant and lounge — known for burgers and poutine — were open every day except Christmas. 

Within hours, water had filled the fairways and restaurant. When LaForge and his son went the next day to survey the damage, they found nearly an inch of clay and silt in the clubhouse. RCMP ordered them to leave, in case floodwater returned, and when they returned a few days later, much was ruined: floors, greens, golf carts, cookbooks, pool tables, furniture and appliances.

Like many of their neighbours, they didn't have overland flood insurance. They had tried to buy it but their insurance company wouldn't offer it to people in the floodplain.

Today, LaForge and Labrecque are still grappling with the aftermath. 

For months, they used a ladder to reach their second-floor suite, since the stairs needed to be rebuilt. Labrecque still cooks meals on a two-burner hot plate and stores pantry items on a table. She has binders full of records related to the flood, but much remains unresolved.

"People think it's all come and done, but it's not," she said.

The trauma of the flood sent Labrecque, a mental health facilitator, into weekly online counselling sessions, some of which she spent crying. Her husband dealt with his distress by tinkering with one of his old Fords. "Mustang therapy," the couple called it.

Little did they know that dealing with the province's Disaster Recovery Program (DRP), created to help people who have suffered uninsurable disaster-related losses, would be almost as hard.

The couple's story illustrates the complex process of recovering from floods, which the federal government calls the most frequent natural hazard in Canada. 

In Fort Vermilion, some residents have since bought new homes and rebuilt their damaged businesses. Others are reluctant to leave the land they love, despite government urging to move to higher-elevation areas. 

Residents and business owners look to Alberta's DRP program for funds to restore what they've lost, but the process can be confusing, and in rural and remote communities like Fort Vermilion, more than 660 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, repairing damage can be even more challenging.

LaForge and Labrecque submitted separate DRP claims for their home and business in May 2020.