Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Feelings of overwhelming fear and anxiety hit Alicia Hennessey, Amanda Dunfield and Jennifer Moore every time a rainfall warning is issued for their area. The women are neighbours and live with their families on Stannus Street in downtown Windsor, N.S. — their homes three in a row. For years they've each dealt with repeated flooding caused by problems with the town's combined sewage and storm water system.
Marilyn Roberts lost everything in her basement on Saturday when water from a nearby pond came rushing in. The Sally's Cove resident said it took less than 30 minutes for five feet of water to fill up her basement, leaving her with a massive mess and questions about the future of her home. "It's heartbreaking," she said. "I don't know how I'm going to pull through it down the road. It's going to be hard for me."
On Sunday, October 30, Vancouver woke up to the sounds and sights of rain. Some of it was pleasant, like the pattering on our windows. Others are less pleasant, like ankle-swallowing giant puddles popping around downtown Vancouver. Environment Canada has a rainfall warning in effect for Metro Vancouver, and we’re going to get up to 50 mm of rain today. Already, in the early morning, it’s starting to collect in puddles, making it hard to navigate the city as a pedestrian.
Though this week's storm has already led to widespread power outages, fallen trees and water pooling on city streets, city officials say they believe they're well-equipped to handle whatever the next few days bring. The city remains under a state of local emergency called on Monday. While the Environment Canada rainfall warning for Calgary ended on Wednesday, the weather alerts remain in place for a swath of southern and central Alberta north, east and south of Calgary.
A state of local emergency has been declared in the southern Manitoba city of Morden as rising water levels forced dozens of people from their homes, the city's mayor says. Brandon Burley said so far, about 50 residences have been affected, but that number is expected to rise amid a rainfall warning in place for much of the southern half of the province. Flood crews are keeping a close eye on the area's watershed, which was already high after significant rainfall last weekend. That rain melted accumulations of snow from a storm last month.
