High River, Alberta business owners were met with mould, mud and extensive water damage when they were permitted access to their stores for the first time on Monday.
Business owners in the commercial district discovered that, after the town centre spent 11 days under water, their livelihoods in jeopardy from the damage.
Jacob Kachour, owner of Jacob's Hair Salon and Spa, got a glimpse at what remains of his business. He quickly realized nothing can be saved.
"This is how I make my living, from this shop,” Kachour told CTV News. “Now, who knows.”
Last year, Kachour's business underwent a $15,000 renovation. He will once again have to make improvements. The thought of the process keeps him up at night.
"Now I'm worried that I can't support my family and when I [can] go back to work," he said. "It's tough. It's stress. You can't sleep at night. You wake up at night and start thinking what I want to do."
Elyse Austen started cleaning up right away, determined to get her jewelry store back to normal.
"We have too much loyalty to this town to walk away so we are going to rebuild," Austen said. "But clearly, we have a lot of store front to rebuild."
Residents in the town's southwest area were also allowed to return to their homes on Monday, after officials deemed the area safe. They began re-entry in the afternoon and found flood damage including basements at a complete loss.
Most of the reclamation work for businesses will be completed by contractors, but residents with mouldy basements will need to have them disinfected.
Alberta Health Services have warned residents that face masks should be used when cleaning areas that could contain mould, such as basements, according to its website.
Frustration with re-entry continues
Officials continued to implement a pass system to residents who wanted to get through the checkpoints and re-enter the community. Hundreds lined up to receive re-entry cards and the line moved slowly, frustrating the already worn out residents.
Danielle Smith, leader of the Wildrose Party in Alberta, was on hand and witnessed the slow-moving lines.
"It's a slow process, slower than many would have liked," she said. "I think we are going to have to do a full review of what happened."
Besides the pass system, High River residents have also expressed anguish over the slow and confusing re-entry plan citing the clean-up in Calgary is working at a much faster and efficient pace.
Tens of thousands of Calgarians have returned to their homes and many neighbourhoods have been cleared of flood-damaged debris. Currently, more than 700 Calgary residents remain in evacuation centres.
Back in High River, approximately 1,500 residents living in the northwest re-occupied their homes over the weekend. About 300 residences remain unoccupied.
