Diary of a High River flood victim

[Dion]

To those who don't know I live in the NW end of High River and more importantly Riverside Drive. After a week of waiting we started in on the 2 week task of cleaning up the flood damage and getting the house to a rebuilding stage. I took a ton of pictures throughout the whole process and hopefully it will give you a look see into what happens when flooding occurs. Yes my insurance will cover the damage.

Of course it began with a huge amount of rain upstream that fell over night and came roaring into town that flooded the street and green space in a matter of an hour.

[krazycanuck]

Glad to hear that insurance is going to help you out. Looking forward to seeing the progress. Good luck!

[Dion]

Here comes the water...



And the sewer backup......



Begin the quick process of getting everything I could upstairs... Amazing how much you can do when adrenaline kicks in.







I did what I could and then had to leave. The water came up too quick to get the vehicles out of the garage so we got taken out in a bucket of a front loader. Then we boarded a school bus where we were taken to an evactuation centre in Nanton. The next day my aunt picked us where we spent the next 3 weeks. The first week waiting for the town to let us back in and the last 2 gutting basement and getting it reading for sanitisation.

.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Dion

Yes my insurance will cover the damage.

And for that I think we are all grateful. Such a tragedy. I came up last week for our wedding ceremony in Lake Louise and I was shocked at how high the water was STILL in the mountain water streams. I can only imagine just how bad it was for everyone there and I want to let you know we made a donation on behalf of every guest for the Red Cross flood relief effort in southern Alberta.

I would also like to add that if there's anything we can do for you or your neighbours, please ask and we will try to find a way to get it done. Good luck on your rebuild.

[Dion]

The return home was quite a shock and eye opener. First off we had to go to the local fair grounds to regsiter. We found out that the RCMP along with a bulding inspector and locksmith went into every home to acess the damage. Residents when they registered were given a color code that stated the condition of thier home. Ours was an orange meaning that plenty of work had to be done before we could move back in.

Now the shock of seeing the damage..... Peoples stuff parked by the curb.





Inside the basement...... Water and silt mixed with sewage







Once everything was hauled out of the basement we got a Vac truck to suck up all the silt, water and sewage. About 2 hours later they were done.

[Dion]

Now starts the ripping out of the basement....

A generator to power the tools need to get the drywall and carpet up and out..



Taking out the drywall and insulation. The insurance company said to cut halfway and we proceeded. The carpet was a pain the butt as it was still soaked. We had to cut it in strips then throw it out the window where someone else hauled it off to the junk pile.

[Thor]

Damn dude that sucks, at least good news your insurance is going to cover it!

[WhiteTiger]

Wow, what a great series of pics. I'm sorry for your losses, but glad that insurance is covering it for you.

I dunno though...I got one look at that pic of a bathroom, I'd be tempted to just burn it all down and start anew rather than clean that up. *shudder*

[Dion]

Due to the length of time (1 week) we had to wait to get in we couldn't wait for the restoration company to arrive. They did arrive after we had the lower half of the drywall gutted out. They had a look and said all of the drywall had to be removed. Humidity from the week of sitting had moved into the top half of the dry wall and insulation. From there they did the upper part and also a biowask and and a treatment of the wood to prevent mold growth.

Last Friday they finsihed the biowash and treatment and installed a bunch of de humidifiers to dry out the basement. This morning they will come to take them out. As you can see the work is pretty much done.

[Dion]

The next stage is wait a few months to let the basement fully dry before any rebuild is started. Gotta make sure no mold starts to grow.

The new fridge came last Friday and a new hot water tank is to be installed on Wednesday and as well the furnace is going to be inspected to see if that needs to be replaced also.

Finally I ask that we all give my work pants a final rest in peace as I left them on the junk pile



Feel free to ask any questions you may have

Now it's time for another cold beer.

[Dion]

I should give a shoutout to all volunteers that helped in my small town. It was unreal the community effort that was given. Organizations set up food tents around town cooking up lunch each day for the homeowners and voluteers. Then you had people pulling up in their vehicles offering you free food and drinks and in one particular case a gal offered us a cooked chicken from Costco, cibatta buns and a mickey of Jack Daniels to wash it down with.

On a final note....... My brother and his wife drove here from Minneapolis to help with the cleanup. They both were amazed at all the people helping one another and said you would never see that happening in the States. Well done Calgarians and Highriverites was what they said.

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by Dion

Now starts the ripping out of the basement....

A generator to power the tools need to get the drywall and carpet up and out..



Taking out the drywall and insulation. The insurance company said to cut halfway and we proceeded. The carpet was a pain the butt as it was still soaked. We had to cut it in strips then throw it out the window where someone else hauled it off to the junk pile.

Looking at those pictures I think "what a daunting, even overwhelming task" it would be to start the clean up.

I'm sorry for the damage the flood did to your home and to the homes of thousands of others. I've been out of the country as this whole saga unfolded. Your story and pictures made the tragedy all the more personal.

Good luck to you.

[Rathji]

The worst part of looking at those pictures for me is thinking, "Hey, that looks like the house in Sunrise I did", or "that one looks just like the house in Mission where an army of us tore the drywall out".

I think I participated in cleanup that was at every stage you described here. Its the same story, over an over again.

It sounds like things in High River are starting to slow down. Our church reduced the numbers of volunteers they were requesting on a daily basis, just because they were not getting the same volume of requests as they were a week or so ago. Hopefully this means things are getting better and not that people are unwilling to ask for help.

[Huntingwhale]

Glad to hear you're alright Dion, and that you'll be covered. I know when the flood happened many posters were wondering your status. Glad to hear you were okay, and good luck with the cleanup!

[Minnie]

There you are! I was thinking about asking someone email your nephew again! I'm very glad you're ok.

Your house. You have some of the same exterior shots as a friend of mine. I know he was over in your area trying to help evacuate people as the flooding started. He lives in HR as well. Their house is ok but his church and his van that they couldn't get out in time, didn't fare so well. He and his brother posted a few pictures yesterday, from helping out - I *think* they were over in the Hamptons area.

I'm really glad your insurance is going to help you.

[Knut]

You are a neighbor to my Grandparents (821) and were likely taken out on the same front-end loader as they were.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Dion

Due to the length of time (1 week) we had to wait to get in we couldn't wait for the restoration company to arrive. They did arrive after we had the lower half of the drywall gutted out. They had a look and said all of the drywall had to be removed. Humidity from the week of sitting had moved into the top half of the dry wall and insulation. From there they did the upper part and also a biowask and and a treatment of the wood to prevent mold growth.

Last Friday they finsihed the biowash and treatment and installed a bunch of de humidifiers to dry out the basement. This morning they will come to take them out. As you can see the work is pretty much done.

Dion, is the ceiling finished? You might want to consider pulling that drywall out too if it is.

[undercoverbrother]

Happy to hear you are being covered.

You are one of my in-laws' neighbours.

They got off light compared to you and others, had sewage, but not overland flooding.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Glad yo hear you are all right, Dion.

Are you putting in flood conscious renovations or just rebuilding the basement?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

Glad yo hear you are all right, Dion.

Are you putting in flood conscious renovations or just rebuilding the basement?

What are flood conscious renovations?