Cleanup underway but Alberta town faces long road to recovery after recent rains

The town of Tofield, Alberta, is embarking on a months-long recovery effort following severe flooding that inundated the community in late June. Mayor Adam Hall reported that the area received about 20 centimeters (8 inches) of rain, overwhelming local drainage systems and leading to a state of emergency that recently expired.

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The water that was south of the tracks has mostly receded around the businesses there. Pockets of water here and there, but for the most part that water is gone now.

While the floodwaters have mostly receded from businesses south of the railway tracks, pockets of water remain, particularly on the west end of town. The town's infrastructure, including the sewer system, largely withstood the storm, though some rural roads require repairs. The primary focus now is on local businesses and residents cleaning up the damage.

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We’re just seeing movement of water mostly on the west end of town coming from the county. The creeks are full and they’re flowing, but they’re going where they’re supposed to be going which is good.

Businesses like Tofield Packers faced a significant battle against the rising waters. Owners and family members spent three days deploying over a thousand sandbags to protect their meat packing facility. Despite their efforts, some water entered the back of the building, but crucial areas like coolers were kept dry, allowing them to resume operations within days after health inspectors gave the go-ahead.

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We had sandbags all the way around our building. We had multiple sump-pumps, pumping water away from the building. So we were kind of on a hamster wheel for a couple of days there trying just to keep it out of the building.

The town has received vital support from CN, which provided six industrial pumps, and from neighboring communities. Mayor Hall anticipates that the cleanup will be a protracted process, but the immediate crisis has passed, and the community is now focused on rebuilding and restoring normalcy.

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I feel like we were very lucky.