This week, Mother Nature is showing us her fickle side.
On Tuesday between 4 and 8:30 p.m., 3.2 cm of rain fell. About 2.54 cm of that rain came down within half an hour, overwhelming drains and creating mini lakes on roads in several parts of Red Deer.
Then around 2 p.m. on Wednesday another quick downpour added less than a millimetre of water on the city.
Tom Warder, Environmental Services manager, said the city received about 30 calls — half related to flooded basements and the remainder about flooding on the city streets on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
By the late Wednesday afternoon, the calls had increased to about 100, with residents reporting varying degrees of flooding in basements and in backyards.
There was no major damage to city facilities or buildings.
However, the southeast area of Red Deer seemed to be hit the hardest Tuesday evening with calls mostly coming from residents in Inglewood, Anders, Morrisroe and Sunnybrook.
City crews worked until 1 a.m. following up on calls, unblocking catch basins and surveying the damage.
In most cases, the crews allowed the water to drain on its own.
Flooding was reported at the Centrium and Bower Place Shopping Centre. The flooding in the Centrium was restricted to the event level or the ice level and into the dressing rooms. Maintenance crews used mops and carpet cleaners to mitigate the flooding Tuesday evening.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, parts of the mall were evacuated because of the flooding. By Wednesday afternoon most stores were open for business. On July 13, the mall faced a similar problem with water causing minor damage to various stores throughout the mall. Gerry Doll, co-owner of Red Deer Fire and Flood, a restoration company, has been swamped with calls from the residents with basement floods, six stores in the Bower Place Shopping Centre and property companies. He said the calls started coming Tuesday evening and have not let up.
“When it rains, it pours,” said Doll.
About 1,000 city customers were without power for a few minutes Tuesday because a breaker tipped in the same southeast area. Garfield Lee of the city’s Electrical, Light and Power Department said likely lightning was the culprit but it could have also been the strong winds. In the Woodlea neighbourhood, there were another 21 customers without power because the wind took down a tree.
In the south end of Penhold there was flooding on two of the major town roads causing drainage problems on Tuesday. A tree had fallen on a garage and a tin shed on Robinson Avenue. Penhold Fire chief Jim Pendergast said there were no injuries and no one inside the buildings at the time. On Lee Street, fire crews pumped water from the street into the drainage ditch on Hwy 2A.
On Monday evening, strong winds hit Ellis Bird Farm starting at about 5 p.m. Several tree branches were significantly damaged. A tree planted in the 1950s was completed uprooted and flattened a memorial garden. The wheelchair path to the Butterfly Garden was closed because of fallen branches on the path. Myrna Pearman, Site Services Manager at the farm, said extensive pruning will be needed.
More thunderstorms and isolated showers are in the forecast for Thursday and Friday.
The City of Red Deer is reminding residents to take certain measures when dealing with flooding in their homes and backyards.
Residents should phone their insurance company immediately. If residents have uninsurable claims, they are asked to contact Karen Mann, Emergency Management co-ordinator, at 403-342-8258.
As well, residents should begin the cleanup at once while documenting the damage and subsequent repair costs. For information about any city facility closures or widespread power outages, the city is directing residents to its website at www.reddeer.ca
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com