CALGARY – The Calgary Flood has the community starting to move to recovery. Mayor Naheed Nenshi has just enacted an outdoor water use ban. Water use outside has been restricted. Tap water restrictions are in place. “Use water only if you need it,” stated the Mayor. “The single most important thing we do every day is provide safe clean drinking water”.
Calgary Flood Shuts Downtown
“We are not going to be able to allow access to downtown until early next week. Until then downtown remains off limits”, stated the Mayor.
“If you want to help your city, the single best thing you can do is stay home. Limit your travel please to allow emergency services only”.
On price gouging, the Mayor said it is only happening in very isolated instances. “I will remind folks that under the Emergency Act, price gouging is illegal”.
The Chief of Police stated, “Our overwhelming concern is on safety being first”.
The Chief has also expanded the exclusion zone to include 11th and 12th Avenues between 14th Street West and Centre Street on the east.
Enmax, the power service in Calgary is reporting that as electricity and water ‘don’t play safely together’. The use of Twitter has really helped the power company in getting out to people.
The federal Conservative Party has cancelled their convention slated for Calgary next week. The Conservative Policy Convention has been postponed.
The concern is trying to understand the scope of the damage in the city, including infrastructure, the state of parking lots in the downtown core where most buildings have underground parking which are mostly underground. Those are reported to be flooded.
There remains serious concerns about the ability of the City to host the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.
“About the Stampede, we are Calgarians, we will make this work,” stated the Mayor. “The City of Calgary is continuing the discussion with our friends at the Stampede are ongoing”.
The Mayor said he called “Alberta Boot to tell them he needs to get in and order a new pair of brown cowboy boots, cause in 14 days I am going to need them”.
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