Calgary Floods Cause Mass Evacuations

The Canadian city of Calgary is bracing itself for major floods, issuing mandatory evacuation orders for at least 20 communities and up to 100,000 residents as waters rise and heavy rain continues. “I have never experienced any flooding of this magnitude,” Calgary’s director of emergency management said Friday. No deaths or injuries have been reported so far, but military helicopters have been sent to assist local rescue workers. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those families who have been affected by the serious flooding in Calgary and southern Alberta,” said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, noting that the federal government could be counted on to provide “any and all possible assistance.”