Kayakers take to flooded streets

Residents take to kayaks as thunderstorms cause floods outside 

Severe thunderstorms just outside Calgary cut power to many homes on Sunday morning.

Residents In Langdon  took to the flooded streets in their kayaks.

The storms also affected Chestermere causing power failure with many residents having to deal with flooded basements flooded many basements.

Chestermere resident Bruce McAllister, said he helped a friend whose basement on Victoria Beach Bay had turned into a “lake,” with 2.5 metres of water. He said the entire crescent was under water.   “It’s pretty near up to the ceiling, I would guess, in the basement,” McAllister said.“A number of neighbourhoods are dealing with it,” he said. “It was just too much rain too fast.”

Chestermere resident Shavonne Doell 

shared this picture of a kayaker.

Trina Mitchell in Langdon shared this video 

 “It’s pretty near up to the ceiling, I would guess, in the basement,” McAllister said.“A number of neighbourhoods are dealing with it,” he said. “It was just too much rain too fast.”

According to Environment Canada, a band of the storms hovered over a swath of southern Alberta for hours.

Weather specialist Brian Proctor said Chestermere was hit hardest,  223 millimetres had drenched the city by 10 a.m., though hail could have exaggerated the amount. He said he could safely estimate more than 150 mm of rain hit the city just east of Calgary. Flights at the Calgary International Airport were grounded but allowed to resume  at 11.00 a.m. The storms began around 6.00am and lasted  over three hours.“It was really a number of storms hovering over the same area, hour after hour,” Proctor said.

Calgary had less rainfall, fewer than 5 mm falling, but several thousand homes lost power and many had flooded basements.

Three homes were hit by lightning causing firemen to attend.

The picture left shows motorists attempting to drive through the Chestermere streets.