Wednesday 26 June 2013
Alberta floods: Assessing the human being, ecological and financial impacts
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Alberta floods: Assessing the human being, ecological and financial impacts
as the flood in southern Alberta continues to destroy towns and
cities along the swollen bank of the province’s river system, many people are start
to pick up the piece.
The provincial government announced $1 billion Monday to
kick-start the first phase of recovery.
Premier Alison Redford said the money will be used to support
people forced from their homes, as well as to run relief centres and to start reconstruction
infrastructure.
Those who qualify will receive $1,250 per adult and $500 per
child.
The Stampede, Calgary’s premier sightseer attraction, will open on
July 5 come “hell or high water,” according to event officials.
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Nearly 75,000 in Calgary have been permitted to return home, while approximately 10,000 in Medicine Hat watch and wait as floodwaters
spill into their neighbourhood streets, parks and basements.
Water levels did not reach predicted levels in Medicine Hat,
prompting a sigh of relief as residents wait several days for them to drop.
Thousands of southern Albertans from Canmore to flood-ravaged High
River still wait to return to their homes and assess what’s left.
Dozens of communities have been affected during the flooding that
has prompted a five-day state of emergency likely to stay in effect until late
this week.
The human impact
Thousands of people have lost personal belongings and at least
four people died in the worst flooding southern Alberta has seen in decades or
possibly everdoesn't stop Calgary
couple's wedding
Three people were found dead in Highwood River near High River
over the weekend. At least one other person is still missing. It remains
unclear if there will be more deaths as a result of the flooding.
A fourth person, an elderly woman who stayed in her ground-floor
Calgary apartment because she had a cat, was found by family members Sunday,
police said. The building was flooded, but it is not known if her death was
related to the flood.
Thousands of homeowners without flood insurance will face heavy
financial burdens to clean up their homes, replace belongings and recover from
the damage.
The environmental impact
Flooding in southern Alberta has changed the Rockies and foothills
forever, said John Pomeroy, a professor in hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan
and one of Canada’s top water researchers.
Overflowing waters have altered everything from how the landscape
will handle future flooding to the animals that live in it, he said, adding
this new landscape will require towns and cities to have much improved flood
defences.
The Bow River has swallowed so much silt from eroding banks that
its status as a blue-ribbon trout stream is in doubt, Pomeroy said.
The economic impact
Damage in Alberta from the flooding will be almost 10 times more
than the cost of the 2005 flooding that hit Calgary and parts of southern
Alberta.
It’s estimated that the damage will be between $3 billion and $5
billion, said Tom MacKinnon, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in a note to
clients Monday.
Losses after insurance will be in the range of $2.25 billion to
$3.75 billion, he said.
Thousands of residents who planned to spend money this summer on
vacations and inject money into the economy will likely divert that spending to
fixing their homes, said Todd Hirsch, chief economist for ATB Financial.
“It couldn’t have come at a worse time for tourist operators,” he
said. “Many (will) be costs the money to replace the carpets in their
basements.”
The flood has also forced the province to retreat on opposite its
budget in the coming years.
The Alberta government announced $1 billion for flood recovery in
the province Monday. The money will be used to support residents who have been
evacuated and to start innovation infrastructure, the prime minister said.
The government will provide pre-loaded debit cards to displaced
residents to help with their instantaneous accommodation needs and day-to-day purchase.
With files from The Canadian Press
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