Central Alberta records ‘tremendous’ amounts of rain; flooding a concernALBERTA IS THE BIBLE BELT
FIRST FIRE THEN FLOODS
Story by Emily Mertz • Yesterday
Water accumulates in Edmonton at 34 Street and 69 Avenue on Monday, June 19, 2023, after heavy rain fall Sunday.© Global News
Edmonton saw nearly half of the average amount of rain it usually sees for all of June in just one day.
As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the city had recorded up to 38 millimetres of rainfall. For Edmonton, the June average is 77 mm.
“We’ve seen a tremendous amount of rain so far in the city and over the course of just Sunday," said Global Edmonton weather specialist Phil Darlington.
Darlington pointed out that the University of Alberta weather station has recorded about 129 mm of rainfall so far this June.
Some private rain gauges recorded over 40 mm of rain by Sunday night. Over the course of 24 hours, some parts of Edmonton recorded nearly 80 mm of rain.
Video: Edmonton weather forecast: Monday, June 19, 2023
“We’ve already exceeded our June normal, which is very interesting considering we started the month off well below normal," said Sara Hoffman, a meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada.
She said the first two weeks of June were incredibly dry. Calgary recorded zero precipitation and Edmonton recorded just 0.5 mm.
“So really, over the past six days, we’ve seen a month’s worth of rain -- and more -- fall in the Edmonton region," Hoffman said.
“This amount of rain, at this time, especially for west-central portions of the province, is a little bit unusual and not as common. These rainfall amounts in 24 hours are definitely not the norm.”
Much of central and northern Alberta also saw a lot of rainfall thanks to this significant low-pressure system.
“The most rain fell west of us in Yellowhead County, around Hendrickson Creek and the Edson area," Hoffman added.
Accumulated precipitation amounts (over an approximately 48-hour period) as of noon Monday were:
Hendrickson Creek: 132.8 mm
Carrot Creek: 128 mm
Evansburg: 108 mm
Edson: 107.5 mm
Edmonton area: 52-76 mm
Jasper: 73.5 mm
“The dichotomy of how it started and how it is right now is kind of giving us whiplash," Hoffman said.
"It started off so hot and dry. Now we’re well below normal temperatures, with some portions of the province seeing a crazy amount of precipitation.”
Environment Canada still had rainfall warnings in effect Monday for much of central and western Alberta, including places like Yellowhead County. The weather agency said those regions could see between 40 and 80 mm of rain.
"A long period of heavy rain continues," Environment Canada said. "Widespread rain amounts of 50 to 80 mm have already fallen, with some areas receiving over 100 mm so far.
"Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Localized flooding in low-lying areas is possible."
When considering what they've already seen in the last couple days, that could add up to more than 120 mm total, Darlington said.
The town of Edson, where residents were just allowed to return home after being forced out by wildfire, declared a local state of emergency Monday due to heavy rainfall and flooding.
The town said crews were out with pumps, directing water to avoid flooding issues. Residents experiencing flooding in their homes are being told to call 780-723-6300.
"Crews are extremely busy right now and may not be able to respond right away," town officials said in a post on Facebook.
"Once our main office lines are open again, please contact Infrastructure and Planning to make sure you’re on the tracking list of flooded properties.
"Please stay away from creeks, streams, and other bodies of water right now. We are monitoring Hillendale Pond, Centennial, and other areas and trying to mitigate issues as best we can."
According to Alberta weather station data, the Edmonton Blatchford station accumulated about 52 mm of rain between June 16 and 19. Over the same time period, the Carrot Creek daily station recorded nearly 85 mm.
Bruce Webb, a rancher in Carrot Creek, said the flooding happened really quickly.
"It (Lobstick River) was dry – nothing flowing through it or nothing. Just overnight – like late (Sunday) afternoon around supper it was just a little stream and (Monday) morning it’s all flooded.”
Video: Flooding in western Alberta after heavy rainfall
He said he can see how high the water is from his house.
"Just overnight... It’s flooded a big area of it.
“I haven’t seen what it’s done to my crop fields yet.”
It's as bad as he's ever seen for this time of year.
“Usually in the spring and spring runoff, but not as big as this. This has been quite a few years since we’ve had this much rain," Webb said.
Video: Rare June snowfall warning in the Rocky Mountains, Marmot Basin shares snow photos
There were six 24-hour rainfall records set: Bretton, Camrose, Edmonton, Edson, Elk Island and Grande Prairie.
“For the higher elevations in the Rocky Mountains, this actually fell as snow," Hoffman said. "So we’ve had some accumulating snow especially on Highway 93 and portions of Jasper, Nordegg.
"At this time of year, most people have their summer tires on, so if you’re planning to be in the Rocky Mountains for the next couple of days here, you’ll have to drive to conditions because there’s snow on the roads.”
“Conditions in Jasper are very snowy right now," said Brian Rode, vice-president of Marmont Basin, on Monday at 11:30 a.m.
"It’s been snowing probably for about seven or eight hours now.
"We’ve got a foot on the ground up in Marmont Basin and some trees down in Jasper, so lots of snow but it looks like the weather is going to be sunny here in a few days," Rode said.
High streamflow advisories were also in place for much of central and western Alberta Monday, including for tributaries of the North Saskatchewan River (from Rocky Mountain House to the city of Edmonton, mainstem within the city of Edmonton), the Swan Hills watershed, the Peace River Basin (all streams in the Smoky River Basin) and the Athabasca River Basin (Pembina River Basin).
According to Alberta Rivers, water level rises in the tributaries of over 1.2 metres are possible but no flooding impacts are expected at this time.
Water levels of the North Saskatchewan as it flows through Edmonton are expected to peak late Wednesday into early Thursday, rising 1.5 metres more.
"This may impact boat launches as well as the docks near Dawson Park, Edmonton riverboat."
There was also a flood watch for the Athabasca River Basin (parts of McLeod River near Whitecourt and Paddle River near Barrhead).
Edmonton is no longer under any rainfall alerts, but there's still a risk of rain over the next several days.
Panex Oil and Gas controller Brenda Toews arrived at work on Monday to six inches of water in the Edmonton shop.
The building, located at 37 Street and 69 Avenue in Edmonton, experienced a bit of flooding on Thursday, Toews said, but they were able to sweep it out with brooms.
EPCOR drained it on Friday, she said, but the water returned Monday with a vengeance.
“Now we’ve got five pumps pumping out the water as fast as we can because sweeping it wasn’t working," Toews said.
“It’s really hard to weld when you’re standing in water. So we have no production and I’m paying all my welders to sweep water."
She said it's very frustrating.
"Stressful because we’re going to miss deadlines… and stressful that no one’s being held accountable."
Toews thinks the flooding is connected to a train track and ditch behind the shop.
“I’ve been here 23 years and it’s never happened before. Obviously there’s a big issue. It’s going to continue happening until someone decides what’s wrong.”
Video: What homeowners should watch for when it rains
When the rain started really coming down Sunday, Charity Sagart knew her older home might have some issues.
“Last night, of course, it was flooding outside. The (basement) carpet was saturated with water so I just lifted it up and cut through the drywall and saw a little bit of a crack and followed it up and it’s there."
She found a crack in her foundation so she called to have it assessed and repaired Monday.
“We’re getting over 100 calls a day," said Todd Ivanochko, president of Shield Foundation Repair.
“This is just that time of year. You get a month’s worth of rain in less than three days.”
He said the most common issues are deficiencies in foundation walls, vertical cracks, leaking snap ties (the wires going through the foundation) and honeycombing (when the concrete separates and becomes porous).
“Water can be terrible. It not only wrecks the drywall, it’ll wreck the baseboards, it can wreck your flooring, it can damage any furniture in the area, and if you don’t catch it right way, it can create mould and other issues.”
“I’m in homes that were built in 2023. I’m in homes that were built in 1910. It doesn’t matter.
"We live in an environment that has a very high plastic clays, which means the more moisture you get, the more the ground swells (and) the less moisture you get, the more it shrinks. So the house is always wiggling and moving," Ivanochko said.
He added that if homeowners notice water damage, they should try to contain the water and minimize its impact by rolling up carpet and moving any belongings away.
“People should pay attention to their downspouts and where they’re going, any negative sloping grating towards the house, that’s just encouraging more water to go up against the foundation wall.”
Fire to floods: Edson declares local state of emergency due to massive rainfall
Story by Karen Bartko • Yesterday
Heavy rainfall caused Bench Creek through Centennial Park to flood and become a lake as the town of Edson dealt with flooding on Monday, June 19, 2023.© Credit: Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara via Twitter
To say it's been a trying few weeks for the people of Edson, Alta., may be an understatement.
After being forced to evacuate twice in the the span of a month due to wildfires fuelled by dry conditions, residents in the town about 180 kilometres west of Edmonton are now dealing with an opposite extreme: too much water.
"We asked for rain and boy, did we get it. Way too much and if it wants to stop now, I'm thinking we would be very happy about that," Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara said Monday afternoon.
"Really shocking. From one extreme to the next."
More than 105 millimetres (mm) of rain has fallen in Edson in the past 48 hours and Zahara said the bulk of it — about 85 mm — came over the course of couple of hours Monday morning.
"Which is the types of rainfall you would see over a period of a month. So our infrastructure — no town infrastructure, city infrastructure — can handle that much water at that amount of time."
Late Monday afternoon, Yellowhead County issued an emergency alert for flash flooding.
"We are experiencing heavy rainfall resulting in overland flooding, snow accumulation, fallen powerlines, and in some areas, power outages," the Alberta Emergency Alert issued at 4:19 p.m. said.
People were advised to avoid driving through flooded areas, stay away from downed power lines and be prepared for outages.
Just before 6 p.m., the county also said part of a hamlet about 60 kilometres south of Edson and Hinton was being told to evacuate.
An evacuation order is being issued for residents in Lower Robb due to heavy rainfall. They were told to head to a reception centre up the road at the Robb Multiplex/Curling Hall.
As of 1 p.m., the town of Edson said 13 properties had reported flooding but the number is expected to change. Zahara said he's never seen this much rain or flooding in the community.
During a update in which a state of local emergency was declared by the town due to heavy rainfall and flooding, Zahara became overwhelmed with emotion.
"Listen, folks. This has been incredibly difficult the last number of weeks..." he said, choking up and having to pause to collect himself.
"Today is hard to watch, to see people struggling with their homes... But I am incredibly proud of our staff here at the Town of Edson and our emergency responders. Thank you," he said through tears.
Zahara said residents are dealing with flooded basements and homes and the flooding is taxing the town's already exhausted resources.
"We know this is a lot to deal with right now."
All available staff in the town have pivoted to deal with the flooding.
"We have every available resource within the Town of Edson deployed right now. Many of them were working during the fires as well. So they are a bit taxed and we are looking at bringing additional resources in," Zahara said.
Phone landlines and internet were also down in the town Monday, which the community noted was an issue with Telus and the telecommunications company was working to fix it.
By declaring the state of local emergency, Zahara said the town will be in contact with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency to get more resources in to help, as well as requesting assistance from surrounding municipalities.
"We're going to be reaching out to our neighbouring municipalities if they can help support us with some crews, to help our teams to be able to divert this water," Town CAO Christine Beveridge said during the update.
Some roads have been closed and pumps have been set up to deal with localized flooding in Edson, she added.
The Edson landfill is also closed until further notice due to deteriorating road conditions and bridge concerns, the town said later in the afternoon.
The town noted the storm surge being experienced Monday is unprecedented, adding the majority of the sewer system was designed back in the 1960s and 1970s and is undersized for today's needs.
"No amount of infrastructure funding and infrastructure upgrades would deal with this kind of rainfall over this short of a period of time," Zahara said.
The town said once the system becomes overwhelmed, roads become the natural path for runoff to any one of the three creeks that flow through Edson.
With the past few days of continual rainfall, the ground has soaked up as much as moisture as it could, and Edson said the waste treatment system is running at capacity.
"We have pumps that are diverting sanitary past the (sewage) treatment plant to holding ponds to relieve the pressure on our system," Beveridge said.
"We've had over 85 millimetres of rain in a very short time and obviously we're trying our best to minimize the damage."
The mayor shared a photo on social media showing Bench Creek through Centennial Park had overflowed its banks and turned into a lake, with water levels reaching a pedestrian bridge that runs through the park in the middle of town.
Beveridge said a "beaver specialist" has been called in to free blockages (presumably caused by beaver dams) downstream on the creek.
An Environment Canada rainfall warning is in effect across much of western Alberta as a long period of heavy rain continues.
Widespread rain amounts of 50 to 80 mm have fallen with some areas receiving over 100 mm so far, the national weather agency said Monday afternoon.
Edmonton itself saw nearly half of the average amount of rain it usually sees for all of June in just one day.
Video: Heavy rain flooding basements in Edmonton: ‘It’s heartbreaking’
A noon update from Environment Canada said Hendrickson Creek near Grande Cache has received 132.8 mm of rain, while Carrot Creek got 128 mm. Edson is located between those two communities.
Additional amounts of 40 to 80 mm are expected before rain tapers off Tuesday night, the government said.
It was just last Thursday the roughly 8,000 residents of the town in Yellowhead County were allowed to return home, six days after being ordered to evacuate.
On June 9, a massive wildfire sped towards the western Alberta town, fuelled by high temperatures and winds.
That evacuation of both the town and much of the county came a month after a nearly identical situation in early May.
Monday's town update was actually supposed to be a wildfire update but that is no longer the main threat to the community.
"At this point in time, we will have a further update later this week as the water is now our issue over fire," Beveridge said, adding 84 mm of rain has fallen at the head of the wildfire as of Monday morning.
"We still can't let our guard down as as when conditions dry, we'll start to see more risk again. But at this moment in time, it's really about the water."
The flooding comes as the town is still working to get back to normal after the wildfire evacuations.
Beveridge praised the patience of residents and the efforts of workers to re-open stores and restore services and utilities.
She said ATCO Gas has gotten 3,400 homes back online since last week. She thanked all the help provided by other municipalities in recent weeks, including the City of Edmonton which opened a reception centre.
"It's second-to-none when it comes to how our residents were treated. It's just been ... amazing."
The wildfire danger is low in the Edson area now and while the fire burning near town is still classified as out of control, Alberta Wildfire said little fire spread is forecasted due to the mild weather.
"I wish we would have had some of this rain a few weeks ago," Zahara said.
"Obviously, this is going to help our wildfire situation, but has brought a whole bunch of new problems to our community."
Zahara said administration would have a further update on Tuesday.
Ralph Klein attended the 1995 Bilderberg meeting while floods ravished the south of the province and forest fires decimated the North. It was a good time for a trip abroad. He was invited by long standing Bilderberg Steering Committee member and international corporate criminal; Conrad Black.
