TORONTO -- Calgary was swamped by floodwaters Friday that displaced tens of thousands of people and forced the evacuation of the downtown core as communities throughout southern Alberta fought a watery onslaught. Some other notable floods in Canada:
1948 - Rising waters in the Fraser River floodplain in British Columbia led to the evacuation of 16,000 people in May and June. The flooding damaged or destroyed 2,000 homes.
1950 - The Canadian Army and Red Cross helped evacuate 100,000 Winnipeg residents -- a third of the city's population -- when the Red River flooded parts of southern Manitoba starting in late April. The river stayed above flood stage for 51 days. A combination of heavy snows during the previous winter and heavy spring rains caused the destruction of 10,000 homes.
1954 - Hurricane Hazel led to a number of floods in the Toronto area in October, with 30 deaths caused in one neighbourhood by flooding of the Humber River. In total the hurricane claimed 81 lives. Environment Canada reports 1,896 families were left homeless.
1986 - An entire community in Northern Ontario was washed away by massive ice chunks from the Winisk River on May 16. About 118 residents were forced to move 30 kilometres inland from Hudson Bay after only two buildings remained when flood levels came down.
1995 - Close to 4,000 residents were forced from their homes in Medicine Hat, Alta., due to the overflow of the South Saskatchewan River in June. Torrential rains and melting snow from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains caused the evacuation of 1,350 houses.
1996 - Heavy rains caused the Saguenay River to overflow in late July, forcing the evacuation of 16,000 people. Flooding and mudslides destroyed 488 homes, damaged 1,230 damaged and caused nearly $700 million in damage.
1997 - Melting after a record winter snowfall triggered widespread flooding in southern Manitoba, Minnesota and North Dakota. More than 7,000 military personnel helped evacuate 25,450 people in Canada. The flooding of the Red River and some of its tributaries in April and May damaged an estimated 1,000 homes.
2005 - Heavy rains in June caused flood damage to about 40,000 Calgary homes and resulted in the evacuation of more than 1,500 residents. The storms resulted in $275 million in insured losses and Environment Canada reports about 40 municipalities were affected by infrastructure damage.
2008 - Almost 60 people and 140 farm animals had to be rescued over 16 days of flooding in April and May along the entire length of the Saint John River in New Brunswick. Floods affected 1,600 homes and caused around $50 million in property damage, including roads and infrastructure in and around Fredericton.
2009 - Southern Manitoba experienced the most widespread flooding along the Assiniboine River on record. Environment Canada said the flooding lasted for 120 days. Water levels rose so high in Lake Manitoba that some beach front homes ended up three kilometres into the lake. The Manitoba government estimated 7,100 residents were displaced from their homes. Flood-fighting and compensation cost causing $1 billion.
(Sources: The Canadian Press, Environment Canada, The Government of Manitoba, Toronto and Region Conservation, Library and Archives Canada )
