STORMS SLAM CALGARY AB and PETERBOROUGH ON Canada

[tropicana]

Intense storm slams into southwest Calgary
Fri July 16th 2004

CALGARY (CBC) - A massive thunderstorm hammered southwest Calgary with rain and hail Thursday night, flooding roads, taking down power lines and spawning lightning strikes that started several small fires.

Some drivers were caught in pools of water a metre deep, or stranded under overpasses. Others were involved in fender benders because visibility was so poor.

The force of the water was strong enough to wash away heavy manhole covers.

Police closed a number of roads because flooding, with Macleod Trail, 14th Street and Glenmore Trail the worst hit.

Stampede organizers delayed the start of the night's chuckwagon races until the storm had passed, and shut down midway rides while they waited out the weather.

The storm rolled in at about 8 p.m., accompanied by the same kind of heavy winds and rain that have caused havoc this week in cities stretching from Edmonton to Peterborough.

In Edmonton, the Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that private property and vehicle damage from Sunday's rain and hailstorm amounted to at least $60 million.

The city is expected to release an estimate Friday of how much it will cost to fix damage to roads, sewers and drainage systems. That number could also be in the tens of millions of dollars.

State of emergency for flood-ravaged Peterborough extended to second day

Maria Babbage
Canadian Press


Friday, July 16, 2004



PETERBOROUGH, Ont. (CP) - A state of emergency in this flood-ravaged central Ontario community was extended to a second day Friday as emergency crews continued their cleanup efforts and officials worked to assess the damage.

Peterborough fire Chief Lee Grant said lifting the declaration will largely depend on how well the cleanup progresses and how quickly electricity can be restored throughout the city. Between 700 and 800 basements remained flooded and at least 500 customers were without electricity Friday morning.

Just more than 24 hours earlier, Peterborough was hit with more than 150 millimetres (6inches) of rain, putting about one-third of the city under water after sewers backed up and Dawson Creek overflowed.

The severe conditions were the work of the same weather system that originated in western Canada last week, pelting Edmonton with hail, and is slowly working its way east into Quebec and to the Maritimes.

Mayor Sylvia Sutherland said Peterborough - known for its vibrant arts and aboriginal festivals and bustling tourist industry - is facing millions in damages.

Businesses through much of the city were shut down after the storm hit early Thursday, but most were expected to start reopening Friday.

About 225 people stayed in emergency shelters overnight because their homes were too waterlogged to allow them in.

Grant said draining basements and trying to restore hydro were priorities.

"We had crews pumping all night," he said. "We cleaned up roughly 200 (basements). We still have about 500 residents without hydro. That's the key concern - to get hydro restored to the homes in an effort to save what may still be in freezers and stuff like that."

Monte Kwinter, Ontario's minister of community safety, visited Peterborough Thursday, and has said the province isn't providing any emergency funding just yet. The city will have to rely on provincial programs already in place and local fundraising efforts.

"It won't cover everything, I just want people to understand that," he said Thursday. "It's not meant to do that, it's meant to handle emergencies and if anybody is in a real dire emergency, there's funding available there."

City emergency crews have been working double shifts to help deal with calls from residents and businesses.

Grant said offers of help have come in from across Ontario, with Toronto sending firefighters to help with the cleanup effort Friday, and Oshawa and Cobourg supplying road crews.
-justin-