As many as 100,000 people may be forced to evacuate their homes in western Canadian province of Alberta today (June 21, 2013), due to heavy flooding. The Weather Channel is reporting that 12 communities in Alberta are now under states of emergency, including areas south of the just south of Calgary, a city of more than a million people. The floods are due to torrential rains throughout southern Alberta on Thursday, June 20. According to the Weather Channel, the floods have:
… washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away.
It’s also being reported that mudslides have forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway, and that the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore are now isolated.
Officials said the evacuation would take place in stages over the next few days.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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