Conditions deteriorated overnight in southern Alberta as rain continued to fall and water levels in all rivers and creeks continued to rise.
Water is beginning to pool in many fields across the south, where two to four inches of rain fell yesterday and more is expected to fall between now and Thursday evening. Some areas have received more than five inches of rain in the last seven days.
Several communities declared local states of emergency yesterday and this morning. Farmers have been advised to move livestock and equipment away from rivers and are asked not to pump water from farmland until rain subsides.
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Alberta Emergency Alert advises that the Oldman River is now flowing bank to bank, and the Belly and Waterton rivers continue to rise. Willow Creek is also at capacity and Lee Creek in Cardston has overflowed its banks.
Some residents of Claresholm have had to evacuate their homes, and residents in parts of the Blood Reserve are on evacuation alert. Flooded basements and sewage backup are reported in some Coalhurst homes.
Overland flooding has washed out part of Highway 52 west of Raymond, and more roads in the region are expected to suffer damage.
The cities of Lethbridge and Medicine Hat have implemented emergency plans. Oldman River flows through Lethbridge could reach damaging 1995 levels of 4,500 cubic metres per second.
Downstream in Medicine Hat, where the South Saskatchewan River has the accumulated flow from the Oldman and Bow rivers, flooding equivalent to last year could occur in what Alberta Environment officials say would be “the worst case scenario.”
Peak flows are expected to reach that city on Friday.
