06/01/2026
Alberta nearly came to a standstill in 2013.
In June 2013, southern Alberta was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in Canadian history. Days of intense rainfall caused rivers to surge far beyond their banks, flooding communities across the region.
The cities of Calgary and High River were among the hardest hit. Entire neighbourhoods were underwater, major highways were washed out, and more than one hundred thousand people were forced to leave their homes. At the time, it became the largest evacuation in Alberta's history.
The damage was staggering. Homes, businesses, roads, bridges, and critical infrastructure were affected across southern Alberta. Even today, many people who lived through it still remember the sight of rivers turning into raging torrents almost overnight.
What made the disaster so shocking was how quickly it happened. Areas that seemed safe one day were flooded the next.
If you lived in Alberta during the floods, what do you remember most about those days?