Floods have forced mandatory evacuations in parts of Fort McMurray,, even as Alberta tries to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo ordered mandatory evacuations of some residents that began on Sunday and were expanded on Monday. Ice jams caused the Athabasca River to spill its banks.
Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, told Reuters the federal government was looking “very urgently” at ways to help the area.
“The fact that flooding season and in due course, forest fire season, is coinciding with coronavirus in Canada is posing some special challenges,” Freeland said Monday in Ottawa.
The area, like most of Canada, is subject to restrictions on movement and most businesses are closed.
Wood Buffalo Mayor Don Scott described the situation as a “crisis” on social media, and he has asked for military help.
(Reuters)
