Friday 21 June 2013

FLOOD OF 2013

The city where I live is experiencing one of those “once in a hundred years” climate events. We have had a very wet spring and the last few days we have had almost biblical amounts of rainfall. The rain has fallen over a very large area and combined with the spring/summer snow melt, the runoff from the mountains has contributed to cause our current flood situation.
 
It isn't just Calgary, but all of the satellite towns around us have been affected and the worst of those was High River where all of the inhabitants were evacuated. High River is a beautiful town that this year, instead of having just a quaint name, it is unfortunately descriptive. Thankfully, so far, there have only been two or possibly three deaths. I hope that is the extent of the loss of life. The ranches and farms in southern Alberta have just finished the seeding of their crops and more than likely those seeds have been washed away. There have been roads and bridges washed away, thousands of homes, vehicles and personal belongings will have been destroyed due to the flooding. The cost both personal and financial is mind boggling.
 
The Prime Minister of Canada, the Premier of Alberta and the Mayor of Calgary took a helicopter tour of the areas affected by the floods. They are all from Calgary so they do have a personal connection to the lands that are under water. I can't help but think that it is also a very good photo opportunity for all of them. The Prime Minister has been embroiled in a financial scandal that could use the emergency in Alberta as a cool down period. The Premier is also finding it difficult to get the voters to back her and her government wholeheartedly.  The Mayor is just a concerned guy that has his cities best interests at heart. I like Mayor Nenshi, so I am a little biased.
 
Even if all three had the best of intentions I would think that the helicopter time would be better used by someone that could co-ordinate the rescue and protection efforts. I am sure that if they didn't take the tour of the flooded areas then some dimwit like me would criticize them for not caring. You really can't win in politics, but you can get rich and that will be in another blog sometime. The army did get called out and they rolled into town this afternoon at just about the same time as Prime Minister Harper flew into the province. They could have killed two birds with one stone if only they had brought guns and made a side trip to the airport. They will be a great help during the rescue operation and in the days to follow the flooding helping get things organized so we can get our lives back to normal as soon as possible.
 
Where I live, we had rain, but no flooding. Thank God! Well, thank us too, because we choose to buy a house that the developers didn't build on a floodplain  Quite a few of the areas that have been flooded in Calgary are located beside the Elbow or the Bow rivers and belong to some of the richest people in the city. I feel for their loss, but there is a part of me, the jealous part I suspect, that has a hint of a smile at their expense. I just read that the insurance will more than likely not cover the damage to homes and property. It’s an ACT OF GOD and therefore not covered. If you believe in God, isn't everything and act of God? I really hate insurance companies! Hopefully since it has been declared a disaster area, the government will help those most in need when rebuilding their lives.
 
We are expecting another day of rain, but the rivers have crested and in a day or two the city and towns in the area will be able to get a better idea of the damage and how to go about prioritizing the repairs to homes and infrastructure.



 



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