CALGARY — Heavy rain, hail and strong winds whipped through Calgary on Tuesday evening, leaving considerable damage in their wake.
Trees were uprooted, power lines were downed and flash flooding swallowed up some vehicles and caused delays for transit.
One woman told CTV Calgary she called 911 when her car became submerged up to the headlights in an underpass.
“I’m actually scared of water because I can’t swim,” she said, adding that a 911 operator told her to climb onto the roof and wait for help.
In some spots, the hail was so heavy it looked like knee-deep snow piled on the ground.
Calgary Emergency Management Agency deputy chief Sue Henry said the biggest issue they found was catch basins backing up because of the deluge of hail and leaves that had been ripped off of trees.
Henry said the number of calls to 911 were six times the normal volume.
Acting Detective Jack Russell with the Calgary police said they received a call about a roof being ripped off an apartment complex in the northeast, thanks to the wind.
Doris Kaufmann-Woodcock with Enmax said it was likely thousands of people went without power for at least a little while after the storm — the number was later reported at 35,000.
She said the combination of heavy hail and strong winds knocked down some lines, so the degree of difficulty in getting the power back on varied, depending on the area of the city.
Dozens of flights at the Calgary International Airport were cancelled or delayed as a result of the hour-long storm.
There were no reports of injuries.