Alberta flood: 'I watched a refrigerator go by. It's insane'

Torrential rains and widespread flooding in southern Alberta have left people throughout the province in awe at the power and scope of the devastation.

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The floodwaters have washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away. Several communities are under states of emergency, and as many as 100,000 people could be forced from their homes in Calgary alone.

'I watched a refrigerator go by, I watched a shed go by, I watched couches go by. It's insane.' —Canmore resident Wade Graham

There were flashpoints of chaos from Banff and Canmore and Crowsnest Pass in the Rockies, to Calgary and beyond in the north and south to Lethbridge.

John E. Marriott, a photographer who lives along Cougar Creek in the mountain town of Canmore, about 100 km west of Calgary, said on Thursday that the raging torrent had moved within metres of his house.

The creek rose from centimetres deep and about three metres wide to being 150 metres wide and about five metres deep, he said.

Canmore resident Wade Graham said he woke up at about 3 a.m. Thursday to a rumbling sound "and it was the creek."

"At first it was just intense, pretty powerful, amazing thing to watch. As daylight came, it just got bigger and bigger and wider and wider, and it's still getting bigger and bigger and wider and wider.

"All you can hear is like boulders and trees. I watched a refrigerator go by, I watched a shed go by, I watched couches go by. It's insane."

He told CBC News he was looking directly at Grotto Mountain, "which has no waterfalls on it ever. From my bedroom window I can count ... seven major waterfalls from here."

Mike Crawford, who lives on Bow Crescent in Calgary, said he had to leave his home just after noon Thursday.

"Early this morning the river was going over the bike trails, but it wasn't looking to be a concern," he told CBC's Ian Hanomansing.

"Noon it was higher, but still not a concern, and within hours it had risen several feet and water started seeping up onto the streets and running through the neighbour's yard into my yard."

He said he decided to leave while it was still safe, saying water was starting to cover the streets. Crawford's home was built over the last year, and he moved in only three weeks ago. "I'm not really sure what I'm going to be walking into tomorrow or the next day," he said.

Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, said water levels on the Bow River (Cougar Creek is a tributary) aren't expected to subside until Saturday afternoon.

Evacuees in Calgary were being asked to stay with friends or relatives, though recreation centres were being set up to accommodate those who had no place to go. More