After Battling Massive Wildfire in May, Fort McMurray Hit With Flooding

Pam Wright
Published: August 2,2016



 

After battling a major wildfire that made world headlines in May, Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, Canada, is drying out after facing a natural disaster of another kind — flash flooding.
The fire in May, fueled by dry conditions and high winds, destroyed about 10 percent of the buildings in the city and forced the evacuation of 88,000 people.
Now, after a weekend of heavy downpours, the community is reeling once again after being inundated with so much water that flooding occurred in parts of the city.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes the embattled city, reactivated its emergency operations for the first time Sunday since the fire after more than 3 inches of rain fell, with the majority falling within two hours Sunday morning, according to CTV. In fact, more rain fell on Sunday than Fort McMurray's average rainfall for the entire month of July.
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"It's a bad dream," city councilor Keith McGrath told CBC. "I think I'm in a bit of a denial state. How can this happen? How can so much happen within the span of three months?"
No evacuations were issued nor injuries reported, but the heavy rains led to residents still recovering from the devastation of fire waking up to flooded basements, sewer backups and flooded parking lots. Power outages were also reported across the city, according to the Edmonton Journal.
MORE: Fort McMurray Fires