City monitoring upstream weather conditions, prepared to respond

Medicine Hat – The City of Medicine Hat is closely monitoring the weather conditions in the rivers and streams upstream from Medicine Hat and receiving regular updates from Environment Canada’s River Forecast Centre (RFC).

The RFC is tracking a weather pattern that could bring upwards of 100 mm of rain to the Kananaskis and Calgary areas on Monday. Flood Warnings have been issued for the Bow River at Banff and Canmore, and a Flood Watch is in place for other rivers upstream.

Although the river flow is expected to increase throughout the week, there are no high flow advisories at this time for Medicine Hat.

“The City of Medicine Hat is on alert and is prepared to deploy resources at a moment’s notice. We have been regularly communicating with the River Forecast Centre to understand the potential threats to Medicine Hat,” said Merrick Brown, Manager of Support Services with Fire and Emergency Services. “The risk is relatively low at this point, but things can change at a moment’s notice, so we are operating with caution, not concern.”

Since Medicine Hat’s last significant flood event in 2013, the City of Medicine Hat executed a multi-million dollar overland flood protection strategy with the installation of berms and flood walls.

“It is comforting to have the additional layer of infrastructure but are always at high alert with the appropriate level of caution to ensure our residents and property are protected and safe to the best of our ability,” adds Brown.

Due to extreme fluctuations in flow rates, residents are advised to stay off the rivers and away from river banks and low-lying pathways. Even when waters appear safe, hazards are difficult to assess when the waters are turbid.

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