July 2, 2013 – High River Baptist Church in High River, AB is assessing the damage done to its church facility caused by devastating flooding in June. The church was flooded with 5 feet of water. In these early days of salvage and recovery, it is uncertain whether the church’s insurance will cover the damage.
The flooding has caused extensive damage to homes and businesses across High River. Most of the town’s 13,000 residents were evacuated when flooding began on June 20 as the river rose and flooded High River’s streets and neighbourhoods. Some are being permitted to return to their homes but many more continue to be displaced since up to 1 in 6 homes may need to be bulldozed. It will take many weeks and months to clear damage from the floods, to assess what can be salvaged and what must be bulldozed. It is unknown yet how much of the damage will be covered by insurance since most homeowner policies do not cover overland flooding.
The damage at High River Baptist includes a collapsed kitchen floor but it is not yet known how extensive the remaining damage is or how it can best be repaired. The church’s insurance adjustor has done an early walk-through of the building but the floor is unstable so no one else has been permitted into the building to begin removing debris. The insurance company has hired a contractor to begin cleanup.
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Donations to help High River Baptist as well as CBWC churches who are responding to the flooding crisis across southern Alberta can be made on the CBWC’s website on our donations page.