Reservoirs across southern Alberta are releasing water to relieve pressure on dams.
Alberta Emergency Alert says Travers Reservoir near Lomond has been opened and flows higher than ever experienced are expected in the Little Bow basin of the County of Lethbridge. Flows of 60 cubic metres per second are expected within the next 12 hours. Normal flow is three cubic metres per second.
Alberta Environment expects all bridge crossings of the Little Bow to be wiped out on highways 522, 845 and 25.
The gates are also open at Twin Valley Reservoir in the Municipal District of Willow Creek and Vulcan County. Rural residents below the reservoir have been advised to evacuate. A reception centre is open at the Stavely community hall.
The Oldman Dam floodgates have been open since yesterday morning.
The City of Lethbridge and County of Lethbridge continue to operate in local states of emergency, with water levels in the Oldman River expected to peak in the region within the next hour.
Farmers in the county are being urged not to pump water off flooded fields because it adds to the flow.
In the city of Medicine Hat, the emergency operations centre has been activated and record flood levels are expected. River flow could reach 6,000 cubic metres per second, which is 600 cubic metres per second more than seen in the flood of 1995.
Alberta Environment said 80 to 250 millimetres of rain have fallen between Waterton Park and Banff since Wednesday morning. In the Bow River basin, rain intensity up to 20 millimetres per hour has caused flash floods and mudslides along the mountains and foothills. An additional 30 mm is possible overnight.
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