A state of local emergency  has been declared for the city of Calgary due to the potential of significant flooding. The level of the Elbow and Bow Rivers have risen significantly in the last hour.

As such, portions of the following communities are facing mandatory evacuations.

Please go to Calgary.ca to determine if you are required to evacuate. If you are in an identified area, please self-evacuate immediately. Evacuation maps are available on CalgaryCityNews.com and media outlets are being requested to post the maps on their websites as well.

• Discovery Ridge
• Bowness - Bowness 2
• Sunnyside
• Eau Claire,
• Downtown East Village,
• Bonnybrook
• Mission,
• Elbow Park
• Elboya
• Roxboro
• Rideau
• Inglewood
• Erlton
• Cliff Bungalow
• Victoria Park
• Westmount
• Montgomery

While evacuating, residents are asked to:

• notify their neighbours before evacuating their homes

• mark an ‘X’ on their own front doors visible from the street for uniformed personnel (CPS and CFD) to confirm that the area has been evacuated

Calgary Police Service and Calgary Fire Department vehicles will be driving through these communities announcing the evacuation order with loud speakers and uniformed personnel will be confirming residents have evacuated.

Additionally, Calgarians living in low-lying areas that have experienced flooding in the past are asked to make arrangements to evacuate.

Preparations for Evacuation

Police Service, Calgary Fire Department, Animal & Bylaw Services, Calgary Search and Rescue, Canada Task Force 2 and The City’s Corporate Security team have started going door to door to notify residents of the evacuation in numerous communities along the Elbow and Bow Rivers. Please check Calgary.ca for specific areas of evacuation. If you are in one of the evacuated areas, please begin preparation for evacuation.

Once evacuated, residents will not be allowed access to these communities as this is a mandatory evacuation.

What you should do

Call your family together to decide what you will take. Pack enough clothes, prescription medicine, personal identification and other essential items to last at least one week.

Arrange for you, your family and your pets to stay with friends or relatives. Evacuees who cannot arrange for alternate accommodation will be provided with food, shelter, bedding and other essential services at one of these reception centres:

Southland Leisure Centre, 200 Southland Drive SW or

Acadia Recreation Complex A, 240 90 Ave SE.

And after 8:00 pm today

Centre Street Church, 3900 - 2 Street, NE

People can take their pets to the Animal Service Centre, 2201 Portland St. S.E. or The Calgary Humane Society, 4455 110th Ave SE, if they cannot arrange accommodation for them.

Recommended Measures

The City of Calgary advises residents in the affected areas to minimize the potential flood damage by taking the following measures:

• If you are in the flood evacuation zone, do not worry about turning off electricity or gas. Enmax and Atco will turn off power and gas in the areas, as necessary.

• Install the cap in the basement sewer floor drain if you don't have a mechanical back flow prevention device in place.

• Move valuables such as photographs and personal and legal documents, from the basement or a lower floor to an upper floor.

• Remove newspapers from basements because wet newspaper can stain carpets with ink

• Listen to local radio and television stations for further updates.

• Visit The City of Calgary’s website for information, at www.calgary.ca.

Emergency Response

The City is asking all citizens to help the authorities who are responding to this emergency by observing these restrictions:

• Do not drive to the affected areas unless you are involved in the emergency response. Extra traffic will prevent the authorities from responding quickly. Pedestrians are asked to stay off all bridges.

• Do not use the phone unless you are requesting help or reporting an important event.

• Unnecessary phone calls could overload the telephone system and limit the authorities' ability to communicate.

Call 311 only for flood related calls. Call 911 in case of emergency. Please visit Calgary.ca for current information.

Public contact information: 3-1-1

Public email contact: 3-1-1contactus@calgary.ca