Stay Strong, Alberta

We’re In This Together: Waiting Out The #YYCFlood & #ABFlood

All I can hear outside is rain, helicoptors and sirens from time to time. There’s something truly unsettling about watching parts of your city literally drown around you.

I can’t quite grasp the reality of my luck for being on top of this apparently magical hill that seems to stay relatively unaffected. The Glenmore Dam is overflowing, an 8 minute drive away from my apartment building. My area will likely remain unaffected. The water is everywhere, as the pictures flying around the Twitterverse show. I seriously just don’t know what the heck is going to happen and there’s no point in having expectations when weather like this is involved. I suppose that’s something all of us Calgarians should have mastered by now seeing as our weather is notoriously known for changing every five minutes (an exaggeration, of course, but the weather can be unpredictable at times). Mild joking aside, watching this all unfold around me has been more than startling and I can barely pick my jaw up off the floor.

The rain is still pouring here in Calgary with no sign of an end any time soon. We are all trying our best to help those in need and keep each other calm during this intense natural disaster. I am proud of my city and all of those who have come forth and opened up your homes, stores and arms to friends, family and complete strangers that are affected by this horrendous event. The Southland Leisure Centre just next to my apartment complex is at capacity, unable to open their doors to any more of the evacuated. I can not properly convey the surrealty of this experience. My father lives just north of Calgary and I am currently unable to get to him if I needed/wanted to. I think about that a little bit more and it really upsets me. I’m not the only one experiencing this. Bridges are being closed that make their way across the Elbow and Bow rivers, effectively cutting people off from other areas of the city. So many of us have been cut off from family and friends, luckily still capable of communicating via telephone, text message or the Internet.

So many people I know were evacuated from the downtown core and other areas, and now many of them are watching their homes fill up with water. My cat’s acting weird and we’re trying to keep our minds occupied. My friend, who is staying with us, is fast asleep on the couch catching a quick nap. She’s been awake most of the night.

This is hard for all of us. It’s hard having such a heavy situation constantly being realized in the back of your mind. You just don’t know what to do with yourself. I can barely concentrate on anything. You feel useless, helpless and defeated. We are at our most vulnerable. Mother Nature is seriously kicking our ass. I am completely unable to relate to anyone who has experienced any property damage or who have loved ones that have gone missing. I just wish there was something more I could do.

Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do right now. The military is on it’s way to assist the City of Calgary workers, the Calgary Police and other cities and towns in their efforts to provide relief to the flooding areas. So far, we’re being told by them and our amazing mayor here in Calgary, Naheed Nenshi, that they’ve got this covered. They’ll let us know if that changes.

All we CAN do is remain calm, understand that we are not yet under a boil water advisory (although some people seem to be panicking and picking the grocery stores clean of bottled water). If any of us feel unsafe at all, it is recommend we collect our valuables and go. Otherwise, it would be smart if we would stay off the streets and major roads, set up camp in our living rooms, play boardgames for the evening and keep an eye on the news. Some of us will have to endure candlelight if your power has been turned off. My advice is to keep the humour alive, laughter is the best medicine and, albeit a horrible situation we are in, it is important to remember that we all have each other. That’s pretty cool, Calgary. You have impressed me in ways over the last few days I’ve never even thought about before. It’s the only thing keeping me smiling today.

Be proud of our city, be proud of our province.

We will get through this. Together.