Nah... all is well. I've "totally rad urban painted and polished concrete floors". And now I own a mop.

Well, river banks are an obvious no-go zone. But, as I said, avoiding flood plains does not, in and of itself, guarantee that you won't experience basement seepage in a heavy downpour. I am not aware of any quadrant of the city that is entirely safe. We have friends in every quadrant who have contended with flooded basements.

It helps to make your offer to purchase a property subject to a satisfactory inspection by a competent house inspector. It helps, but it's not a guarantee against future flooding.

As I said in my previous post, it also helps if:

• there is weeping tile around your basement
• your roof has plenty of gutters that flow into downspouts that are directed well away from your house
• your gutters are clear of debris
• your yard is sloped to carry excess water away from your house

I should have added that:

• a sump pump is a very useful thing to have
• after what I've seen during the last couple of years, I believe it is imprudent to go away on holiday in June if you own a house

The areas Judy mentioned would the the most obvious to avoid.

Here's a link to a web page with pictures of the flood. All of the pictures do have descriptions some mentioning the districts like East Elbow Park and Mission.

http://www.calgaryarea.com/calgary_flood.htm

Judy mentioned home insurance. Most policies will cover for sewer back-up flooding but if it is surface water that finds its way into your home via basement windows or doorways that is usually not covered.

But if your building your own loads of people build in a flood plain. Raising the house and building dykes to slow the problem.

I was up at 32nd Ave NE on the worst day of flooding. Couldn't see Deerfoot northbound for all the water! Only encountered one large puddle on the drive southbound though.

I live down in Evergreen and we definately did not seem to suffer as badly as the North of Calgary. In fact when I was up in the North on the Sunday and caught in a major downpour complete with thunder, I got home to find there had been no rain whatsoever and my Hubby thought I was mad!!!!!!!!!

Floods?

(Location, Chaparral)