Chestermere residents cope with cleanup from summer storms

Piles of debris litter yards across the community as people try to assess the damages and mop up from two summer storms.

The impact of two powerful storms is still being calculated in Chestermere and residents continue to drag out water logged furniture and materials from basements, garages and backyards.

People living in the bedroom community were forced to deal with more rain and flash flooding with about 60 millimeters falling Tuesday.  Hail even piled up on the streets making it look more like snow.

The storm created a lot of anxiety for residents who were already trying to find places outside their home to store furniture and boxes that weren’t damaged in Sunday’s flooding.

One man said he felt helpless just staring at the storm watching it come at him and says he wasn’t really sure what to do because there was no way to stop it

Another man says he actually went out of his way to build his house well above the water table, which he says makes the flooding even tougher to swallow.

It's still not known how much damage the latest storm caused or how many houses were flooded during Tuesday’s storm but the City of Chestermere says less than ten cases were reported.

Mayor Patricia Matthews says the water is safe to drink, but she is asking people to reduce their water usage to help clear up more space in the sewer system in case more rain does fall.

The Better Business Bureau is also warning home and business owners to be vigilant in the coming days and weeks when it comes time to hire contractors to help fix the damage.

Sandra Crozier-Mckee, President and CEO of BBB Serving Southern Alberta and East Kootenay says unfortunately scammers tend to come out of the woodwork after a weather disaster to capitalize on the fact that people are vulnerable.

She says it’s crucial to watch out for so-called storm chasers – out of town contractors who show up after a disaster, walk door-to-door offering great deals on recovery efforts and then take deposits from unwitting homeowners and then skip town.