Running through Calgary, after the flood (includes photos)

It's funny how life works out sometimes. No sooner had we arrived in Calgary from Halifax, than the city experienced the worst flooding in its history. And here we were, fresh off the boat, just trying to get settled into living in a new place.

Fortunately, we weren't affected by the waters, although we were about three blocks from evacuated zones. Two days after the flood, I took my camera with me to take in the aftermath as the waters receded and roared around the city core.

Warning: yes, there are a lot of photos. But it's not every day you get to witness a flood of historic proportions.



All in all I have to say arriving just as the flood happened was a great way to witness first-hand Calgary's can-do attitude and resilient nature, even if I would never have wished this devastation on anyone. But I was struck by just how much the city came together in a time of intense devastation. In fact, I tried finding opportunities to volunteer but so many people turned out to help that I wasn't able to lend a hand!

In the weeks that followed, there were reports that runners were having a hard time adjusting to the aftermath of the flood, because some of their favourite routes had been washed away. But to be honest, I'm not sure that was a priority for people as they were trying to dig themselves out from the wreckage. Yes it will take time to fix some of the worst-hit areas, but in the meantime, give us a road and some shoes, and we runners can take ourselves just about anywhere.

~ HRG...via Calgary