In June of 2013, after a winter of heavy snow followed by a spring of heavy rain, a large portion of Alberta experienced severe flooding (Environment Canada calls this a Super Flood) which, in many places, will change the landscape until the next catastrophic flood or other incident.
Although most places were closed off with police and security barricades, I did manage to get out and explore some of the damage.
Have a look through my photos below and see what the forces of nature can do. Let it serve as a reminder as to how powerful water is and that if you’re in a flood plain, take precautions. In an area where flash flooding can occur, you should always be prepared for survival situations.
The town of Canmore was hit hard. Above is pictured a section of a creek that expanded immensely. A small bridge is no longer safe to travel over and this entire area would have to be cleaned up, and reinforced for any future rushing water.
A small travel trailer was caught up in flood water on once a camp ground location. Washed down through an expanding creek it came to rest here. In the foreground is a natural gas main pipe that was once buried (yellow pipe).
Over 1000 kilometers of roads were damaged or completely destroyed.
This RV was washed hundreds of meters down stream, a side ripped open and a tree slammed through it. Amazingly, the bottle of glass cleaner on the kitchen counter is still standing upright!
Not even the VagabondExpedition Jeep Wrangler is going to make it past this washed out section of road near Bragg Creek.
The town of High River experienced insurmountable losses and large-scale disaster recovery teams across North America attended to assist.
Now in early 2015, as I write this, a large portion of infrastructure and damage has all been repaired, but as you travel through the region, you can see how the landscape is forever changed from the flooding of 2013.
