As high waters have hit southern Alberta, politicians and Albertans shared their shock and reaction to the flooding.
See slideshow below for some quotes from people about devastating flooding in southern Alberta.
Text version for mobile users below.
What's Being Said About The Alberta Flood
"There are first responders who are asking communities to take steps to evacuate where possible and necessary, and ... when that is asked ... people really must leave, although it's a very difficult thing to do.'' - Alberta Premier Alison Redford
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"Get away from the river now!" - A police officer yelling from a helicopter circling over Calgary
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"We're all kind of panicking ... this is Mother Nature at its finest.'' - Bernice Merrick, manager of the equipment store in the Calgary Curling Club
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"There's a lot of debris in the creek and if the debris gets backed up and piles up ... then the creek re-routes itself very quickly around that debris ... just when you think you see what's happening and you go to respond to it, then the creek changes itself.'' - Sally Caudill, a spokeswoman for the mountain town of Canmore on the raging Cougar Creek
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"We have peaked and we have seen a slow decrease. That doesn't mean there won't be another peak as surge waters come, but it does mean today, at this moment, we're slowly seeing the numbers go down.'' - Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi about the Elbow River
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"I woke up at about three o'clock in morning to the sound of this kind of rumbling and it was the creek. At first it was just intense, pretty powerful, an amazing thing to watch ... All you can hear is like boulders and trees. I watched a refrigerator go by. I watched a shed go by. I watched couches go by. It's insane." - Canmore resident Wade Graham
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"The Bow River, when I saw it, looked like you were looking at an ocean." - Nenshi
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"I took a look at property and community down there, and I've got to tell you: standing on a bridge, in the dark, when the power is out, listening to the roar of the river is terrifying.'' - Redford talking about her home constituency of Calgary Elbow
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"Rescued by some guys operating a manure spreader at about 7 p.m. We spent two hours picking up people from their homes. It was wild and frightening,'' - Danielle Smith, Alberta's Opposition Wildrose party leader, posted on Facebook
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"The broader issues of climate change and the projected intensification of weather patterns ... is certainly a cause for concern." - University of Alberta hydrologist Uldis Silins
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"Canadian Armed Forces assets, including a Cormorant and Griffon helicopter, have been deployed to the area to assist ... with rescue and evacuation efforts.'' - Prime Minister Stephen Harper
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"I directed the city manager late last night to offer full assistance to the City of Calgary. City staff have already contacted their counterparts in Calgary to support them in any way possible." Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
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"I've seen a little bit of flooding in Calgary before," he said. "I don't think any of us have seen anything like this." - Prime Minister Stephen Harper
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"I said if helicopters don't come, I love you." Cheyenne Lowry, 18, from High River, to her father.
With files from The Canadian Press