This release was issued under a previous government.

The floods that began on June 20 impacted more than 100,000 Albertans in 30 communities. Since the flooding began:

  • More than $150 million in disaster assistance has been provided to nine municipalities to allow them to begin rebuilding.
  • Almost $70 million in immediate support has been distributed as pre-loaded debit cards or cheques to more than 40,000 Albertans forced from their homes. The deadline to apply for this support is September 30.
  • More than 8,600 applications for Disaster Recovery support have been received, with 2,324 payments made, totaling over $11.2 million.  Many applications received are incomplete either because applicants are waiting for insurance information or because required information has not been provided. Any applicant who has not received an initial payment is encouraged to contact the Disaster Recovery office in their community or call 310-4455 toll-free in Alberta to ensure their applications are complete and mailing address is up-to-date. The deadline to apply for this support is November 30, 2013.
  • Over 1,100 applications for Disaster Recovery support have been received from small businesses impacted by the floods.
  • Fifty-three applications for relocation from homeowners who lived in the floodway are currently being processed.
  • More than 2,000 Albertans are still out of their homes, including almost 1,300 living in temporary neighbourhoods in High River and Siksika. A temporary neighbourbood that will accommodate approximately 700 people will open in the coming weeks in Calgary.
  • Temporary classrooms will be available to support the 950 students displaced from the three schools most impacted by the floods. Students will continue moving into these classrooms as soon as they are completed.
  • Five health facilities that provide direct patient care damaged by the floods have been safely repaired and are serving Albertans. Reconstruction on two supporting facilities, the High River Annex Building and the High River Health Unit, is set to begin soon.
  • Public health inspectors carried out more than 10,000 inspections and consultations to assist Albertans affected by the flood. This includes assessments and inspections of hospitals, restaurants, schools, day cares and other public facilities, as well as private drinking water consultations and owner-occupied home assessments and consultations.
  • Of the 985 kilometres of provincial roads and bridges closed as a result of damage, 857 kilometres, 87 per cent, have been reopened. For up-to-date information on road closures, visit the Transportation website’s interactive map.
  • Approximately 200 bridges have now been inspected, with 30 of these bridges receiving significant damage. All but one (Highway 547 Bow River Bridge in Siksika First Nation) of the major bridges closed as a result of the June flooding are re-opened, either fully or partially.
  • Of the 1,058 kilometres of recreation trails closed in Kananaskis Country, almost all have been reopened either fully or partially. Eighty-three per cent of the area’s 38 front-country campgrounds were reopened by the end of August as were 78 per cent of the 98 day use areas. Visit AlbertaParks.ca for up-to-date information.
  • Alberta Flood Information Line operators have taken questions from more than 23,000 callers since opening on June 24.
  • Fourteen information sessions have been held in more than 10 communities to answer Albertans’ flood-related questions.
  • In High River, over 600 metres of damaged rail track have been removed and the CP Rail Bridge is in the process of being dismantled to allow for safer river flow through the town.
  • More than 22 Olympic-sized swimming pools of material have been scraped to re-establish the safe flow of the Highwood River.