HIGH RIVER — A man hired by the Alberta government to handle emergency operations in the flood-ravaged town of High River is apologizing for comments he made at a recent private meeting with some local residents.
Darwin Durnie says in a statement that he’s unhappy with his choice of words in answering questions at last Friday’s gathering about the impact of emergency efforts in the town’s Hampton Hills neighbourhood.
The statement comes after the emergence of a video in which Durnie says the neighbourhood was sacrificed to save others in High River during last month’s devastating flooding across southern Alberta.
Rick Fraser, the minister in charge of flood recovery for the area, says in a statement that the words used by the contractor were unfortunate and do not reflect the government’s views.
Albert Flootman, High River’s director of engineering, says far more water was moved out of Hampton Hills than was pumped in from an adjacent neighbourhood.
Hampton Hills residents have been seeking higher levels of compensation for homes that remained awash in runoff weeks after the flooding.