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Thursday, June 24, 2010 — THE MEDICINE HAT NEWS SEEKING SHELTER


Supplied photo Brad Betcker Cattle huddle on of the few safe pieces of land at the


Bar T Cattle Company, southwest of Medicine Hat on the morning of June 19. The Seven Persons Creek, which fl ows through the property, fl ooded that morning after the St. Mary's River Irrigation District released water from the Murray Dam to avoid the dam from breaching.


■ www.medicinehatnews.com


JASPER STREET The aftermath of the fl ood waters is seen on Jasper Street in Maple Creek, Sask.


■ www.medicinehatnews.sabphotostore.com


JUNE 19 & 20, 2010 Bracing for the second wave


KEN GOUSSEAU kgousseau@medicinehatnews.com


Hundreds of residents were evacuated in Medicine Hat and Cypress County over the weekend as widespread fl ooding sparked a local state of emergency.


With another 40 to 50 millimetres of rain in the forecast for Medicine Hat on Sunday night and today, offi cials predict the creeks will rise to the same levels seen on Saturday.


However, they say the full impact of the rain likely won’t be felt until mid-Monday.


“The rain is going to follow a similar pattern that it did when it caused the fl ooding in the fi rst place,” Police Chief Andy McGrogan said at a news conference Sunday.


“We’re anticipating more of the same type of problems with the fl ooding down the Seven Persons Creek and the Ross Creek.”


Offi cials announced the evacuation centre at the Stampede Ballroom would be closed Sunday night.


“We don’t anticipate any further evacuations until we see what’s going to be happening tomorrow with the rain,” McGrogan said.


“There will be a phone that they can contact and will be on-call if they are needed and our volunteer centre is going to remain open throughout the night.”


About 600 homes in the Flats remain under an evacuation advisory.


“The people who are asked to voluntarily leave their residence are advised not to go back because we really don’t know what the situation is going to turn out to be,” McGrogan said. “We’re all in a kind of wait- and-see mode.”


All of the residents living near Iron Avenue, one of the hardest-hit areas of the Flats, have already fl ed their homes.


“We’re concerned about them going back,” McGrogan said. “But it seems that the situation is so bleak down there that nobody would want to go back.


“There’s homes that ... will take months before they’re ready to be inhabited again, if at all.”


Many residents of the Flats, including Linda Andress, decided to stay in their homes, however. As of Sunday, only 44 families had vacated their houses, offi cials said.


“Abandoning your house is a hard thing to do,” Andress said. “You’re going to worry more if you’re not here than if you stay.”


Katie Vinetti also stayed, and girded her home in the Flats with pieces of cardboard, Styrofoam and anything else she could fi nd.


“(The city) doesn’t provide us with sandbags,” Vinetti lamented. “I think the city should give us enough sandbags to cover our windows every year.”


While the city is unable to provide sandbags to residents, they are available from private suppliers, McGrogan said.


On Saturday night, offi cials closed the Dunmore Road bridge after it was feared that the bridge at the P&H Elevator was about to give way, potentially causing heavy debris to smash into the Dunmore Road bridge. However, the bridge was re-opened after the creek receded overnight.


On Sunday, the city deployed 3,000 sandbags around city hall and parts of the Medicine Hat Arena to guard the buildings against potential fl ooding along the South Saskatchewan River.


Sandbagging efforts were also underway along the Ross Creek in Cypress County, following fears that the opening of the St. Mary Dam on Sunday would raise the water level. It turned out to be a false alarm.


“It looks like we are in recovery mode right now, awaiting the next rainfall that’s supposedly going to hit us,” Cypress County fi re chief Dennis Mann said Sunday.


There were no additional evacuations of residents in Cypress County over the weekend.


About 40 Irvine residents were evacuated as fl ood waters rose on Friday. Several properties in the area and across the county were completely devastated in the disaster.


Curtis Vossler, a cattle rancher from Irvine, and his family escaped the fl ood by literally swimming from the front door of their home to their vehicle.


“It sounded like you were standing underneath a waterfall,” Vossler said.


The water fl ooded Vossler’s basement and destroyed three farm buildings and a garage on his property.


The family of ranchers are worried about what the future holds, Vossler says.


“Things were tight before and now we’ve got a whole house to put back together,” he said. “If there’s no assistance for what happened here, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”


The Trans-Canada Highway is closed indefi nitely at Maple Creek, Sask, after water spilled over the road Friday and carved out portions.


Highway 41A, from Medicine Hat to Highway 41 north of the Trans-Canada, and Highway 41 south to the U.S. border remained closed into Sunday night.


Renner, Mitzel tour fl ood zones


KEN GOUSSEAU kgousseau@medicinehatnews.com


Alberta’s deputy premier and several cabinet ministers who took a helicopter tour of Medicine Hat and Cypress County on Saturday say compensation for fl ood victims in the region is forthcoming.


“(Premier Ed Stelmach) wanted us to be aware of what’s going on in a boots-on-the ground kind of way,” said Deputy Premier Doug Horner.


Horner says the premier had other commitments and wasn’t able to join his ministers for the tour.


“That’s why we have a team coming down that are the ones that have the responsibility,” Horner said. “(The premier) wanted people in southern Alberta to know that we are aware and are here.”


Alberta Agriculture Minister Jack Hayden says while the extent of the damage to farmland and livestock still isn’t known, his department has pledged to help local producers get back on their feet.


“The big thing with the ag sector, as it is with many people, is you want to be able to respond as quickly as you can because these are very diffi cult times for people,” Hayden said.


Alberta Agriculture is working in the area to assess how many livestock and acres of farmland in the area were affected by fl ooding.


“We have an awful lot of agricultural land that’s under water,” Hayden said. “It’s a mess out there.”


MLA Len Mitzel says his Cypress County constituency was hit harder by the fl ooding than any other area of southern Alberta.


“As far as damage is concerned and the potential for maybe future damage, we’re on high alert, that’s for sure,” Mitzel said.


He says the visit by the deputy premier and other ministers shows the Stelmach government’s commitment to act in terms of compensation.


“I think everyone should be pleased with the response,” Mitzel said Saturday. “(Friday) morning is when it happened and today they’re here.”


Medicine Hat MLA Rob Renner says the fl ooding in the city and the county has captured the attention of the premier and his cabinet.


“This is something that this government is committed to stand up with Albertans and ensure that everything that can be done is being done at this point in time,” Renner said.


“The longer process is what do we do after the event subsides and whether or not this will qualify for a disaster-recovery program. It would seem to me that it looks pretty obvious.


“But that doesn’t kick in until after we deal with the immediate circumstances. Right now, the issue needs to be on how do we mitigate any further property damage, but most importantly, how do we ensure that we protect public safety?”


LEN MITZEL ROB RENNER


News Photo Ian Sorensen Flood waters spill into Kin Coulee Park on Saturday morning. Many of the city's golf courses and low lying areas are now under water.


the best


News photo Emma Bennett Hatters walk along River Road to see the South Saskatchewan River's rising waters.


News Photo Emma Bennett Water surrounds a building in the South Flats on Sunday morning.


news team in town in town


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