South Edmonton residents clean up damage caused by storm

Damage in a suite at a south Edmonton apartment complex caused by Thursday's storm.

Edmontonians hardest hit by Thursday’s storm are continuing cleanup efforts but it could be days before the full extent of damage dealt by pounding rain, hail and lightning, is known.

The storm dealt its biggest punch in south Edmonton, flooding basements, damaging schools and forcing the closure of roadways.

The main focus for residents at Hillview Estates apartment complex in Mill Woods on Friday was getting everything dry.

The apartment’s parking lot at 34 Avenue and 58 Street had turned into a lake during the storm, damaging a number of vehicles parked in the lot.

In one apartment suite, the weight of the water caused the floor to buckle. It’s believed the contents of the suite are a total loss.

Crews are working to pump water out of the building and fix equipment damaged due to the storm.

“Right now we’re just trying to get the crawl spaces dried out, cleaning out the mechanical rooms so the mechanical guys can come in,” said Debbie Soroka with Vericlean Restoration Services.

“Fix hot water tanks and boilers that got damaged in the flood and taking out wet carpet and trying to dry out the crawl spaces.”

About 35 residents in 26 units have been forced out of their damaged basement suites.

The Red Cross is assisting those who have been displaced.

Restoration service workers will be drying out the building throughout the weekend.

Heavily-damaged items are being tossed out while water is being pumped out of the building.

It is expected health officials will evaluate conditions of the complex next week and engineers will assess the structural integrity of the building.

With files from Bill Fortier