Post by ocelot on Jun 6, 2007 10:50:43 GMT -5
Calgary lashed by wicked rainstorm
Chaos follows flash floods, lightning strikes
Sarah Chapman and Jamie Komarnicki, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, June 06, 2007
A severe thunderstorm overwhelmed emergency services Tuesday and wreaked havoc across the city with flash floods swamping vehicles and flooding homes.
Lightning strikes ignited at least one house fire and the city's emergency 911 system was overloaded with calls.
Two people were rushed to hospital in stable condition after being hit by lightning at Fox Hollow Golf Course, said EMS spokesman Mike Plato.
Police and fire crews blocked major roads rendered impassable by the deluge.
"The whole road looked like a river," said Katrina Wilton, 22, who was driving on 68th Street and 43rd Avenue S.E. where she saw a van and SUV submerged in water.
"You could only see the roof of the van. There looked like there was a (GMC) Jimmy underneath, you could only see the roof rack."
Cars were driving up on grass trying to get out of the flooded area while several people paddled the street in rubber rafts, she said.
"It's creepy -- it's an eerie feeling when you see that. You don't know what happened."
Many major roadways across the city were flooded, with emergency crews scrambling to barricade streets and diverting motorists from the deep water.
The city's 911 emergency system was flooded with high call volumes, prompting officials to urge people experiencing severe flooding to move to higher ground and call emergency services as needed.
Police advised motorists to stay off the road for most of the evening as the downpour drenched Calgary from stem to stern.
At 7:37 p.m., the weather was deemed a heavy thunderstorm. It lasted more than an hour then continued to rain throughout the evening.
"You hate to use those silly adages, but we're barely keeping our head above water. It literally is that. We're taxed to the maximum of our resources. So many roadways are immobilized it's forcing us to go from issue to issue to issue to determine what's most critical," said police duty inspector Luch Berti.
"It's all weather related and natural phenomenon, but it creates havoc in the urban landscape."
Deerfoot Trail was flooded at every interchange ramp. The northbound lanes were completely shut down at 32nd Avenue N.E.
Blackfoot Trail was impassable from Southland Drive north. Most intersections at Macleod Trail were filled with water and 14th Street and 9th Avenue S.E. was flooded.
Also, 52nd Street and McKnight Boulevard N.E. was impassable.
"The best way I can put it, is Mother Nature, she took the gloves off tonight and she dealt us a blow," Plato said.
At John G. Diefenbaker High School, a blocked drain flooded the roof and caused a number of ceiling tiles in a hallway to fall down. Students and parents at the school for a drama performance were evacuated around 7:15 p.m.
"They had to evacuate the building. They were running around shutting the breakers off," said student Thomas Strangward.
"Cops are wading out to their waists on the street," said Derrick Huck, the assistant manager at Marlborough Ford.
"I have just the rooftop showing on one car."
An apartment complex in the 2400 block of 17A Street S.W. was also struck by lightning, said Berti.
Tuscany residents said a lightning bolt ignited a home on Tuscany Springs Circle N.W.
"It was a pretty bad fire," said neighbour Ivar Alvarez.
"The (flames) were about (four metres) in the air within a matter of three or four minutes. It looked like the whole roof was gone."
At Calgary International Airport, passengers on three planes were stranded for at least 90 minutes due to the rain.
"We have three aircraft sitting on the ramp waiting to get to a gate," said airport duty manager Cliff Rooney.
The warning noted a severe thunderstorm about 60 kilometres east of Three Hills produced nickel-sized hail and localized heavy downpours.
A funeral service for Davis Walls, an 18-year-old who was hit by a car while cycling last weekend, was rescheduled because Centre Street Church in the city's northwest was flooded on Tuesday night.
It will be held at the First Alliance Church at 12345 40th Street S.E. at 3 p.m. on Wednesday instead.
And storms hit Edmonton as well, with a tornado reported in Stony Plain late Tuesday afternoon, followed by a severe hail storm.
Chaos follows flash floods, lightning strikes
Sarah Chapman and Jamie Komarnicki, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, June 06, 2007
A severe thunderstorm overwhelmed emergency services Tuesday and wreaked havoc across the city with flash floods swamping vehicles and flooding homes.
Lightning strikes ignited at least one house fire and the city's emergency 911 system was overloaded with calls.
Two people were rushed to hospital in stable condition after being hit by lightning at Fox Hollow Golf Course, said EMS spokesman Mike Plato.
Police and fire crews blocked major roads rendered impassable by the deluge.
"The whole road looked like a river," said Katrina Wilton, 22, who was driving on 68th Street and 43rd Avenue S.E. where she saw a van and SUV submerged in water.
"You could only see the roof of the van. There looked like there was a (GMC) Jimmy underneath, you could only see the roof rack."
Cars were driving up on grass trying to get out of the flooded area while several people paddled the street in rubber rafts, she said.
"It's creepy -- it's an eerie feeling when you see that. You don't know what happened."
Many major roadways across the city were flooded, with emergency crews scrambling to barricade streets and diverting motorists from the deep water.
The city's 911 emergency system was flooded with high call volumes, prompting officials to urge people experiencing severe flooding to move to higher ground and call emergency services as needed.
Police advised motorists to stay off the road for most of the evening as the downpour drenched Calgary from stem to stern.
At 7:37 p.m., the weather was deemed a heavy thunderstorm. It lasted more than an hour then continued to rain throughout the evening.
"You hate to use those silly adages, but we're barely keeping our head above water. It literally is that. We're taxed to the maximum of our resources. So many roadways are immobilized it's forcing us to go from issue to issue to issue to determine what's most critical," said police duty inspector Luch Berti.
"It's all weather related and natural phenomenon, but it creates havoc in the urban landscape."
Deerfoot Trail was flooded at every interchange ramp. The northbound lanes were completely shut down at 32nd Avenue N.E.
Blackfoot Trail was impassable from Southland Drive north. Most intersections at Macleod Trail were filled with water and 14th Street and 9th Avenue S.E. was flooded.
Also, 52nd Street and McKnight Boulevard N.E. was impassable.
"The best way I can put it, is Mother Nature, she took the gloves off tonight and she dealt us a blow," Plato said.
At John G. Diefenbaker High School, a blocked drain flooded the roof and caused a number of ceiling tiles in a hallway to fall down. Students and parents at the school for a drama performance were evacuated around 7:15 p.m.
"They had to evacuate the building. They were running around shutting the breakers off," said student Thomas Strangward.
"Cops are wading out to their waists on the street," said Derrick Huck, the assistant manager at Marlborough Ford.
"I have just the rooftop showing on one car."
An apartment complex in the 2400 block of 17A Street S.W. was also struck by lightning, said Berti.
Tuscany residents said a lightning bolt ignited a home on Tuscany Springs Circle N.W.
"It was a pretty bad fire," said neighbour Ivar Alvarez.
"The (flames) were about (four metres) in the air within a matter of three or four minutes. It looked like the whole roof was gone."
At Calgary International Airport, passengers on three planes were stranded for at least 90 minutes due to the rain.
"We have three aircraft sitting on the ramp waiting to get to a gate," said airport duty manager Cliff Rooney.
The warning noted a severe thunderstorm about 60 kilometres east of Three Hills produced nickel-sized hail and localized heavy downpours.
A funeral service for Davis Walls, an 18-year-old who was hit by a car while cycling last weekend, was rescheduled because Centre Street Church in the city's northwest was flooded on Tuesday night.
It will be held at the First Alliance Church at 12345 40th Street S.E. at 3 p.m. on Wednesday instead.
And storms hit Edmonton as well, with a tornado reported in Stony Plain late Tuesday afternoon, followed by a severe hail storm.