Sunday, June 30, 2013

After The Flood

The second day that I volunteered in the one of the hardest flood stricken areas, I brought my camera. I knew there wouldn't be much time to take pictures but I saw some incredible things during my first day of volunteering and there was only going to be one chance to capture them.

Later in the afternoon as we were looking for more people to help, I came across some cars that had been completely swamped in the flood. I peered in the windows and was absolutely blown away seeing the dry, cracked silt peeling away from the seats and dashboard. Even though I had spent the past two days in basements where the high water mark was four or five feet up the walls, I was dumbfounded to see these cars in their post-flood state.

Surprisingly, the doors were unlocked and the interiors were just as the flood waters left them. I was careful not to disturb them as I grabbed a few shots.

Calgary Flood

I have never seen anything like it.

Keep shooting.

The Flood

I remember standing on my 21st balcony overlooking the Bow River on the morning of June 20th. The weather forecast a day or two before had called for heavy rains in the mountains but on this particular morning Calgary was enjoying a warm, sunny summer day.

Hours later when I took a break from work and looked over the river once more, the water level had already risen a couple of feet.  The bike path under the Louise Bridge had become submerged under the grey, turbid water. Not until several hours later would I realize what was unfolding before me.