City of Calgary enters state of local emergency in response to heavy rainfall

The City of Calgary has announced a state of local emergency in response to heavy rainfall. 

The special order came into effect at 3:59 p.m. on Monday.

In a news conference, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the special order allows police and fire departments to go door-to-door in the event of an evacuation, gives the city's water services team access to property to protect critical infrastructure, and allows the city to quickly secure supplies if needed.

In a warning issued Monday morning by Environment Canada, the agency said prolonged and significant rainfall events will bring 75 to 125 mm of rain by Wednesday morning in the Calgary region. In some areas, rainfall totals of 150 mm or more are possible.

Gondek stressed that the declaration of the order has been made as a precautionary measure, and that rainfall projections and water levels remain lower than in 2013, when downtown and other parts of the city were flooded.

Chief Susan Henry with the city's Emergency Management Agency said any potential evacuations will depend on how weather conditions develop over the next couple of days. 

Bowness and Sunnyside, which border the Bow River, are the Calgary neighbourhoods most at risk of high flows, said Henry.

She added that river conditions will continue to be monitored, with peak water flow on the Bow River expected Wednesday evening and the highest water levels expected in Calgary on Thursday.

Due to the construction of a temporary berm, a portion of Memorial Drive will be closed to traffic starting on Monday at midnight, between 10th Street N.W. and Edmonton Trail N.E.

Henry urged Calgarians to exercise caution as forecasts and river conditions will continue to change quickly. 

Assistant deputy chief Brian McAsey with the Calgary Fire Department said it is unsafe for Calgarians to be on either the Bow or Elbow rivers, or near riverbanks. 

"Right now, the water is extremely turbid, so [it's] not very clear, we can't see into it. It's also extremely swollen, [on] both those riverbanks. And so that means the riverbank is not a safe place for you."

Francios Bouchard with the city's water resources department said preparatory measures, such as lowering water levels in the Glenmore Reservoir, have been put in place since the city began tracking the weather system last week. 

Bouchard added that while both the Elbow and Bow rivers are expected to see higher flow levels, the Bow River poses a greater flood risk to the city, as current projections show more rainfall over its catchment area.