Watch: How quickly water rises in a storm surge. Footage from recent hurricanes show how water levels in a storm surge can rise exponentially in a matter of minutes.
Evacuation orders issued for two regions in Woodlands County, Alta., due to flash flooding
Flash flooding evacuation orders are in effect for two regions in Woodlands County, Alta., about 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, due to rising waters on the Athabasca River which is causing overland flooding. The order is in effect for residents in the Township Road 620A area along the Athabasca River, east of the hamlet of Fort Assiniboine and for the Flats Road area along the river. The orders came into effect Wednesday evening and require all residents to evacuate the area immediately. Rising waters are causing flooding and washing out roads and people have been advised to drive with caution and avoid impacted roads.
Southern Lakes sets high-water record
Water levels in the Southern Lakes region are the highest on record for Oct. 12. Heavy rainfall caused rising waters in Bennett Lake, Tagish Lake and Marsh Lake in late September and early October. The rising waters have prompted a high-water advisory, which means water levels could quickly rise but no major flooding is expected, for the region.
B.C. couple files lawsuit over deadly dam accident
A woman whose husband saw a "wall of water rushing toward them" as the pair fled a massive torrent released from a North Vancouver dam is suing Metro Vancouver's regional district for negligence. The notice of civil claim filed by Chihiro Nakamura nearly two years after the incident says she and her husband were sitting on a rock in a shallow part of the Capilano River below the Cleveland Dam when they heard a rushing sound.
Rising flood waters force Peguis First Nation to declare state of emergency once again
About a month after historic flooding on Peguis First Nation began to recede, the community in Manitoba's Interlake region is being hit hard by rising waters once again. A heavy downpour on Tuesday followed by runoff from drainage south of the First Nation led to flash flooding overnight on Wednesday, Peguis Chief Glenn Hudson says. By Thursday, the community had declared a state of emergency. Now, roads that had only been cleaned up from flooding last month are again overcome by water, Hudson says. River crossings have been flooded out. Some residents who had just returned home are once again pumping water and sandbagging. Others returned just to have to leave once more, he says.
Manitoba's Interlake region grapples with 'unfathomable' spring flooding
While communities in southern Manitoba battle flooding from the Red and Assiniboine rivers, people in the Interlake region are scrambling to save their homes from rising waters. Overland flooding from the Icelandic River, which runs into Lake Winnipeg, has washed out many roads and drenched fields in the municipality of Bifrost-Riverton. That municipality includes the community of Riverton and numerous hamlets, and surrounds the town of Arborg, about 100 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts
This time of year, with the temperature plunging below -20 C, a snowmobile and an ice chisel are required tools for anyone in Tataskweyak Cree Nation in need of fresh water. There’s the bottled stuff, trucked into town courtesy of the federal government, but the weekly shipment of 1,500 cases is only sufficient to meet basic consumption needs. For cleaning, cooking and basic hygiene water, many residents need a supplementary source. And rather than use their tainted tap water, they follow a snowmobile trail several kilometres to Assean Lake, pails in hand.