Flood watch issued for Central Alberta | DrumhellerMail
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Last updateFri, 19 Apr 2024 5pm

Flood watch issued for Central Alberta

The province has issued a flood watch for areas in Central Alberta, including the Drumheller area.

However, the River Forecast Centre has been in communication with the counties and there is no immediate concerns regarding homes or public infrastructure.

At 11:09 a.m, the Alberta Emergency Alert issued a watch for the area from south of Blackfalds to just south of Drumheller. It is related to high flow in streams in the area.

 This comes as residents from Nacmine and communities to the west woke up to a shock on their commute into town, looking at ice build-up spanning from Nacmine to about the Drumheller Health Centre. With the ice, the water continued to rise. 

Mayor Terry Yemen said the Town of Drumheller is monitoring the Red Deer River and on Wednesday morning dispatched a staff member by airplane to look at the Red Deer River levels and the potential for more ice.

 He explains the high water levels are related to the heavy snowpack on the plains and the warm weather.   A number of creeks throughout Central Alberta are beginning to spill over their banks. The creek near Dunphy has caused some overland flooding.

On Wednesday morning, there was also ice build-up on the Red Deer River near the Swinging Bridge, but at about 10:30 a.m. this broke up.

 About 45 minutes later at 11:15 a.m. the ice build up near the train bridge near Nacmine broke up in a dramatic fashion.

 A flood warning means stream levels are rising and will approach or may exceed full banks. Flooding of areas adjacent to these streams may occur.


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