The recent flooding in Calgary, Canmore, High River, and other parts of Southern Alberta was like nothing any of us had ever seen before. The staff at Young & Haggis were fortunate, our homes remained dry and our families were safe. However we all have friends and family who were impacted by the flood.
Just two weeks after our June 6th blog post about preparing for disaster I found myself glued to Facebook, Twitter, & the TV soaking up every bit of information I could. It just didn’t feel real at the time. It wasn’t until I ventured out to the grocery store later that day that I realized how real the situation was.
I watched people literally climb over one another to grab food and drinks off the shelves and get them into their carts. The line ups at the checkouts stretched to the back of the store. It all felt like a Hollywood movie.
Fortunately the rivers peaked and slowly the water began to recede. For those of us in unaffected areas life returned to normal. For many though the hard times were just beginning. Some came home to flooded basements, some came home to homes that are no longer safe for occupancy, and other came home to find their home had been washed away.
The emergency has since been lifted and the real work begins. The disaster has already brought people closer together. Between insurance, the disaster recovery program, and an army of volunteers things will return to normal. Its just going to take time.
How this all changes insurance and insurance premiums remains to be seen… perhaps a topic for a future post.
Downtown Calgary before & after the 2013 flood
Downtown Calgary before & after the 2013 flood
Downtown Calgary before & after the 2013 flood