By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter) with files from CP

Rain this June – Not as bad as June of 2013!

Jun 19, 2018 | 3:27 PM

LETHBRIDGE —  June 19, 2018, marks the five-year anniversary of the start of the 2013 floods that devastated southern Alberta.

The flood forced the evacuation of nearly 100,000 people, left communities in disarray and killed at least five people.
 
The muli-day event saw more than 250-mm of rainfall in a 36-hour period in the Calgary areas, as well as the foothills west and south-west of the city. It filled streams and rivers across Southern Alberta and impacted virtually every community, small and large, along the way, including the Blood Reserve, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
 
The rain and ensuing floods were the result of the largest riverine flood damage event ever experienced in Canada.

It left behind a multi-billion repair bill from flooded fields, which delayed planting and stranded cattle, thousands of homes, including much of High River and many streets in Calgary were under several feet of water. 
 
Even the Stampede Grounds and the Saddledome were water-logged just three weeks before the annual Exhibition and rodeo. Dubbing the exercise “Come hell or high water”, the call went out for manpower and machines to help clean up the mess.  Working until the hours right up to opening, the Stampede went ahead as usual.
 
Insured damage exceeded $1.7 Billion and total economic damage was pegged at $6 Billion.

Some groups, such as the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, are calling for more action to protect that city from future disasters. 
 
The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction has had disaster and policy experts investigating the circumstances of the flooding. They have filed reports on Canadian flood efforts, compiled best practices for flood mitigation and filed Flood Hazard Research Papers.