Volunteers show true Drumheller spirit during flood

    In adversity, often the true spirit of a person or entire community is revealed.
    Residents showed the indomitable spirit and fellowship of Drumheller during the recent flood crisis.
    “We heard of and witnessed so many different ways volunteers pitched in. It certainly demonstrates the best any community has to offer,” said Councillor Jay Garbutt. “I think we’re all overwhelmed with just  how phenomenally people stepped up.”
    As early as Friday, residents were asking where they could help. It wasn’t until Saturday morning when the call for volunteers was made, but it didn’t take long for residents to show up and help.
    When sandbags needed to be filled, volunteers poured into the IGA parking lot to help. So many showed up, they often ran out of bags or sand.
    “It needs to get done. Everybody chipping in makes for a better Drumheller,” said volunteer Keith Hudson.
    Even Drumheller’s summer residents chipped in.
    “I saw what was going on in Calgary and, because I’ve never seen flooding at home in Ontario, I thought it would be a good chance to help out and get involved in the community. We were sent home from work, so I thought I should put it to good use” said Shawna Butts, a summer employee with the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
    The Town set up a volunteer coordination centre in Greentree Mall, where volunteers continually stopped by to offer their aid.
     “We would get calls about where volunteers were needed, so we could refer to our list. We had 20 volunteers go out to East Coulee and help sandbag. We had another 15 go to Midland to assist there. The support has been amazing. We’ve really come together as a community,” said Cathy Smoliak, who was helping to coordinate volunteers.
    Other residents helped out in other ways. Businesses donated food and items to the evacuation centre and residents opened their homes to give those who were evacuated a place to stay.
    Fire Departments, RCMP members, and others from outside the community came to Drumheller’s aid.
    “The people manning the barricades overnight were a lot of volunteer firefighters from outside our community. They were all phenomenal. It’s impossible to overstate how much everyone contributed from inside and outside the community. The Hutterite community was again a group that could be counted on when the chips were down and they expected nothing in return,” said Garbutt. “We’re incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by people who are there for you when things are bad.”

Dozens of volunteers showed up to fill sandbags at the IGA parking lot on Saturday, June 22. So many came out that there were a few shortages of bags and sand. The community came together during the crisis and volunteers filled sandbags, manned barricades, and helped shield homes from the flood.    mailphoto by Michael James

    Drumheller got a morale boost from the provincial government on Monday, June 24.
    Late in the afternoon, the Honourable Richard Starke, MLA Vermilion-Lloydminster and Minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation, flew to Drumheller to tour the town’s emergency preparedness.
    “I think what I’m particularly grateful for is the level of teamwork and preparedness shown by all the authorities here. There’s been a great deal of cooperation to minimize damage and destruction,” said Starke.
    “I’d like to commend the Mayor and his team, who have been very effective in applying lessons from the past to minimize damage.”

The Honourable Richard Starke, MLA Vermillion-Lloydminster and Minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation (left) with Mayor Terry Yemen standing atop the new berm in Newcastle.

    Drumheller was devastated in 2005, but since then, dykes and berms were constructed around town, which helped keep water out of some areas that were submerged eight years ago.
    The post-flood measures taken here eight years ago, could be a model for other ravaged communities.
    “Drumheller has perhaps shown us a very good way to apply lessons learned from the ‘05 event and apply them effectively in only eight short years. Hopefully we can apply those to other areas of the province as needed,” said Starke.
    “For now, the first thing to do is make sure the needs of the people are looked after. The second thing is to sit down and ask what did we learn from this and what can we do to mitigate it the next time it happens.”
    Starke explained that numbers are being finalized, but funding will be available to communities and persons in need.
    “The exact number we require remains to be seen. The important thing is the Premier has indicated a willingness to meet the initial needs,” “The support that is needed to survive this disaster is going to be there from the province,” said Starke.
    Upon arriving in town, Starke visited Town Hall and sat in on a meeting of the Emergency Operations Centre. Afterwards, he was taken to the shores of Newcastle, where a newly constructed berm was all that separated the river from the houses only a stone’s throw away.
    From there, he was taken to the Newcastle Ball Diamonds. There, standing on a berm constructed in 2005, he witnessed how the river submerged the diamonds.
    Starke then left with his team via helicopter from the Badlands Community Facility..