As many as 1,000 displaced High River residents will live in temporary housing currently being set up in Calgary.
Shelter for the evacuees will be provided in the form of trailers, Metro Calgary quoted Calgary Emergency Management Agency director Bruce Burrell as saying.
“It’s going to be set up very much like a work camp,” he said, adding it will be built in the Great Plains industrial area over the next couple of weeks.
High River's 13,000 residents were given a mandatory evacuation order after the Highwood River flooded over its banks starting on June 19.
The first 5,000 residents to return to the town, located approximately 30 km south of Calgary, were allowed back into their homes on Saturday, but the province cautions that it may be as long as five weeks before all residents are allowed back home.
Burrell told the Calgary Herald the province asked the city for a site with access to utilities, water, sewer and electricity.
The city started scraping, gravelling and compaction of the site on Saturday, Burrell added.
Up to this point, High River evacuees have sought refuge with friends and family, some have camped out in nearby truck stops, while others are being housed at centres in neighbouring communities.
“The temporary housing will allow evacuees from High River to have a housing option during the period of time it takes for reconstruction down in High River,” Burrell told CTV.
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