Flood preparations underway
Posted Mar 22, 2011 1:46 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
People in many parts of Southern Alberta are preparing for another battle with flood waters, this spring.
“All we need is Mother Nature to be gentle with us and maybe we can get through this,” Doug Henderson of the County of Cypress tells 660News.
Last year, the province paid out tens of millions of dollars in flood damage claims in the Medicine Hat area.
“This year, because it’s snow all over the place, it’s going to depend on how fast that snow melts, how far that comes down the creek in a certain period of time,” adds Henderson who says this past weekend in Irvine, volunteers were filling sandbags.
“They’ve bagged 12,000 bags of sand,” says Henderson. “They’ve delivered them to some of the residents. They helped some of the residents sandbag around their homes, so those people are well-prepared.”
Henderson says the Alberta Emergency Management Agency is working closely with various communities providing sandbags and dykes.
Last year, heavy rains in June caused extensive flooding in the region.
This year, Henderson says people in low-lying areas are already moving valuables from their basements while keeping a eye on the sky.
