The provincial government has announced it will provide financial support to displaced residents of the southern Alberta town. To assist with housing needs and day-to-day purchases, pre-loaded debit cards will be offered to eligible residents.
The cards will contain balances of $1,250 per adult and $500 per adult. Details on debit card eligibility will be released later this week.
The town of High River has been ravaged by recent flooding with homes and possessions destroyed by the surging Highwood River.
Mayor Emile Blokland is calling the event unprecedented, the community has never before seen such volumes of water.
“I want to stress that High River is in a very different situation (than other communities),” says Blokland. “Much of our town is still under water. I have seen the damage first hand. It is immense.”
High River, like many towns in southern Alberta, remains under a state of emergency, and a boil water advisory is in effect. Berms are being constructed in High River's northeast and southeast quandrants to prevent further flooding damage from the Highwood River.
The community has imposed a mandatory evacuation order and the RCMP along with Canadian Forces are going door to door to urge people who’ve stayed behind to leave their homes and proceed to evacuation centres including the Tom Horneker Recreation Centre in Nanton and the Blackie arena.
“Their continued presence is undermining the town’s ability to react and we are urging them to leave. They know there is no food, there is no medicine, there is no gas, and no electricity,” says Blokland.
Blokland adds the town is working to improve the flow of information in the community so those affected are aware of progress being made in High River.
The Okotoks Urgent Care Centre is now operating around the clock to assist evacuated High River residents with health concerns.
Provincial inspectors, accompanid and RCMP officers are surveying the structural integrity of homes withing the High River region.
Additionally, the RCMP has partnered with High River authorities and pet rescue agencies to try and retrieve abandoned pets.
Many pets have been rescued from the evacuation zones so far and taken to local animal shelters.
Owners anxious to be reunited with their pets are encouraged to call the Pet Call Centre at 403-603-0263 or text 403- 880-4842.
