Chestermere residents clean up after soaking from summer storm

Homeowners are cleaning up from Sunday's storm filling dumpsters with debris from flooded yards and basements.

Heavy rain hammered the Chestermere area on Sunday causing basements and yards to flood and residents are now mopping up the mess.

The rain came down fast and hard and streets quickly became overrun with water, stranding vehicles.

“Not paying attention and drove straight into a nice puddle and stalled out the car and some of the citizens were nice enough to give me a hand pushing it back out,” said Rick Grant, Chestermere resident.

Basements and backyards filled with water and people had to work quickly to move furniture and personal items to higher ground.

“There’s definitely a sewer backup, it’s flooding this whole basement. The water came down so quickly that it just mass flooded the whole area,” said George, who lives along the lake.

"We woke up because of the thunder and lightning and very quickly the basement started to flood so I have a pump I use to flood the ice rink in the winter," said Doug Sullivan. "My neighbour called to say water was coming up through the sewer and so I just checked 15 minutes earlier and there was nothing, but I walked downstairs and we already had a foot."

People have pulled out the pumps, bail buckets and shop vacs and are pitching in to lend each other a hand to remove the water from homes in the area.

“Everything that was down there is gone. There was about three feet of water down there of sewer,’ said Wally Geddes who has lived in the area since 1980.

“We’ve just been mitigating and helping neighbours and everything, driving portable pumps down to people. We have neighbours across the lake that their basement’s flooded, we have neighbours up here and their basement so just kind of everybody gets together and starts dispersing and helping everybody out,” said Brandy Tuchscherer.

Water logged furniture, flooring and drywall is piling up in several yards as people start the process of repairing damaged property.

City officials say they are still assessing the damage from Sunday’s storm.

“The city is now in the recovery stage following yesterday’s severe storm and subsequent flooding. We are continuing to assess the level of damage affecting upwards of 300 homes. The city is working with its partners and assisting agencies in facilitating the cleanup process. We would like to extend our thanks to all residents and partners for their efforts and dedication during this challenging time. Our community spirit will ensure that Chestermere gets back on its feet soon,” said Chestermere’s Director of Emergency Management, Steve Bagley.

So far there is no estimate on the costs of clean up or the amount of time it will take to complete.