Several properties in Mountain View County are cleaning up after a suspected tornado ripped through the area during Tuesday’s intense storm.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the tornado touch down about 13 km south of Olds, northwest of Didsbury, at about 2 p.m.
Ryan Morrison, manager of infrastructure projects and technical services for Mountain View County, said several farm buildings were damaged. Some siding and roofs on houses were ruined.
Didsbury RCMP and local firefighters checked on residents in the area to make sure they were OK.
A number of trees were ripped down as a result of the storm’s fury. Damage was fairly localized.
“We started clearing trees from about 3 p.m. to about 6 p.m. (on Tuesday),” said Morrison.
The municipality has already spoken with representatives of the provincial government’s emergency financial aid program.
“Right now, they want everyone to go through their private insurance companies and see where that goes,” said Morrison. “A lot of times the insurance companies put the pressure on the government to provide assistance.”
At Sylvan Lake, volunteers were busy on Wednesday morning pulling power boats and sailing catamarans being battered against the shoreline due to intense winds.
Some erosion was also occurring on trails along the shoreline as winds raised waves.
Flooding occurred at parking lots, businesses and along streets in Red Deer when the heavy downpours hit Tuesday.
Tom Warder, Environmental Services Department manager for the City of Red Deer, said the sudden storm caused some flooding in low-lying areas.
Some vehicles were almost immersed fully in water underneath the 60th Street overpass.
“We’ve got pumps that clear out those underpasses, but they can’t keep up with heavy storms like that,” said Warder. “They take a while to clear.”
Detention ponds also fill up and take a while to drain, Warder said.
Warder wasn’t aware of any damaged municipal infrastructure.
Tenants in the basement of the Empire Building along 48th Street and just off 49th Avenue were assessing flood damages.
Petro Sabengele, executive director of Central Alberta African Centre, was inside his office on Tuesday when the water gushed in. He estimates the water was about 25 to 38 cm deep.
A vacuum truck company was removing the water on Wednesday. Sabengele contacted the insurance company on damages that included items on the floor.
“I hope the landlord will replace the carpet to enable immigrant (or) refugee children to resume their weekly activities at our centre as usual,” Sabengele added.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com