I have a dirty secret to share with you; I am an Airdronian only in spirit because I make the long commute from Southeast Calgary everyday to the beautiful city of Airdrie.
As a Calgarian, I was trapped in my home this last weekend as devastating flooding attacked my city.
I made my way home from Airdrie at about 7:30 p.m. on June 20, and I knew something big was happening when I passed the Harvie Passage on Deerfoot Trail between the Memorial Drive and 17 Avenue exits. The rapids were angry. The water was a murky brown except at the tips of the waves, which turned white with the water’s destructive force.
The river had not yet spilled her banks at that point but, my, oh my, was she ever threatening.
Passers-by had pulled over to the shoulder of Deerfoot Trail south to take photos of the erupting force of nature, something I had never dreamed people would do on such a fast moving highway.
On Friday morning, I was awoken by a phone call from my fiancé informing me our neighbourhood had been added to the ever-increasing evacuation list. Thankfully, our home is on top of a hill and just missed the mandatory evacuation zone.
I turned on the news to watch the impending disaster unfold and worry began creeping its way across my chest and into a knot in my belly.
People were suggesting power outages, contaminated water and impassible roads.
I filled every jug and pot I could find with fresh drinking water after reports of bottled water being sold out across the city. I even filled the bathtub.
I rushed to the grocery store to stock up on supplies but apparently everyone else had the same idea. The Superstore I went to had row after row of empty shelves. The line-ups to pay were so long you couldn’t maneuver around people to get to the next aisle. I saw one family’s cart full of food, diapers, candles, batteries, camping equipment and flashlights and I felt utterly unprepared with my little stash of food and batteries.
By 5 p.m. that night, we had lost power in our home and I brought out the camp stove to make butter chicken and rice. I was immensely grateful we had stocked up on the little propane tanks the stove uses when we went camping a few weeks before.
By 8 p.m., we had had enough of waiting around for the power to return. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining so we decided to take our dog for a walk and see if we could safely view the damage.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. The river had swallowed up parks, baseball diamonds, walking paths and bridges. The flow of the water was so loud you had to shout to the person next to you. Water was as far as the eye could see.
It wasn’t until Saturday that I heard of the kindness of our neighbours in Airdrie. The food bank had changed the Empty Bowl Festival to a free soup lunch and collection site for those impacted by the flood.
On Monday, I learned the Airdrie Fire Department will help inspect flood damaged homes. Selena Power of Prairie Springs organized her community on June 23 to fill a 26-foot U-Haul with clothing, blankets, pillows and food. Kids in the neighbourhood collected money from a bake sale and lemonade stand and businesses stopped by to make donations totaling $1,333, which will be donated to the Red Cross.
As I survey the damage in some of my favourite areas of Calgary I am saddened but the generosity of my second hometown is overwhelming and I can only say, thank you.
