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This release was issued under a previous government.

Access for businesses will be located at the Highway 23 overpass, near John Deere.

Occupational Health and Safety and Workplace Safety regulations will apply to all businesses returning to the community. Upon entry, business owners will receive information on the status/condition of their business.

Ensuring local businesses are able to open is important as the town continues to re-populate.

The provincial state of emergency remains in place. This is to ensure a safe and orderly transition from emergency to recovery phases. RCMP will continue to operate roadblocks where necessary.

For more information, please visit http://alberta.ca/High-River.cfm.

Southwest re-entry Monday, July 1 at noon

Residents of southwest High River will be the second group of home owners who will be able to return to their homes. Provincial officials and local authorities have declared this area of the town to be safe. This is an important step forward in the safe and orderly return of evacuees to the community.



Communities that will be allowed to return include residences in the following:

Beachwood Estates;

McLaughlin Meadows;

Old Rodeo Grounds;

Downtown; and

the Golf Course.

Homes and businesses have been colour-coded as follows:

Green : habitable

: habitable Yellow : minor impact, requires clean up, possible repairs, remains habitable

: minor impact, requires clean up, possible repairs, remains habitable Orange : damaged, requires extensive repairs or renovation, not immediately habitable, residents enter at their own risk

: damaged, requires extensive repairs or renovation, not immediately habitable, residents enter at their own risk Red : severely damaged, uninhabitable, dangerous, residents enter at their own risk

Centre of town update

This portion of the community will re-open to residents on Wednesday, July 3 at noon. The Welcome Centre at the Rodeo Grounds will continue to be the location for residents to gain access to the community.

East end update

The Province continues to work on timelines for residents on the east side of town. We continue to pump 40,000 gallons of water per minute from that area.

Northwest re-entry update

High River residents living in the northwest began moving back into their homes yesterday. About 1500 residences have been re-occupied so far. Approximately 300 remain.

While a boil water advisory remains in effect, residents have had water and sewage systems restored. Bring your water to a rolling boil for at least one minute prior to using it for domestic purposes, including drinking, making infant formula and juices, brushing teeth, washing raw foods and making ice. Alternatively, residents may choose to use bottled water. Water used for bathing, or for laundering of clothing, does not need to be boiled.

Reconnection of gas and electricity is well underway. More than 700 residences had power restored yesterday, and over 500 were reconnected with natural gas services. This work continues.

The Welcome Centre at the High River Agricultural Society rodeo grounds will continue to be the location where returning residents will receive an extensive information package containing a damage classification of their home, mental health and other social assistance supports available, key phone numbers, and advice for cleaning residential property.

Throughout High River’s staged re-entry and beyond, the Welcome Centre will support returning residents as a ‘one stop shop’ to provide information and resources, including social services (such as post-traumatic stress counseling) and administrative support, such as personal documentation.

High River Hospital update

The High River Hospital remains closed.

Alberta Health Services is working to recover the facility and ensure that it is safe for patients and staff.

Contractors are finishing clearing the parking lot of the hospital and today will begin to clean inside. A cleaning crew of 40 is coming in to the facility today. Repairs will be necessary before the building will be reopened to the public. A full assessment of the hospital is underway to plan for remediation.

AHS will update the community as soon as possible.

There are eight mental health workers in High River today, three EMS teams and two community paramedics. They are working from the welcome and reception centres as well as the fire hall. The staffing is monitored and will change and be augmented as need develops.

If you have a medical emergency, call 911. The nearest emergency department and urgent care centres are:

Okotoks Urgent Care Centre, 11 Cimarron Common;

Oilfields General Hospital in Black Diamond; and

the South Health Campus, 4448 Front Street, Calgary.

For the latest maps, please visit alberta.ca.

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Media inquiries may be directed to:

Provincial Operations Centre

Communications

Government of Alberta

780-644-4862

#abflood

To call toll-free within Alberta dial 310-0000.