The thunderstorm that pounded Edmonton with rain and hail Wednesday couldn’t be kept out of Alberta’s legislature.
About seven centimetres of water flowed under a door and through the building from the west wing, leaving patches of sodden carpet, one elevator out of service and the whole first floor feeling more humid than usual.
“We went hard with shop vacs (Wednesday) night and mops to get it cleaned up,” said Cathy Saar-Paradis with Alberta Infrastructure.
Fans dry out the Alberta legislature Thursday.
Some water also dripped into the basement of the building, as well as the pit of the western elevator, but Saar-Paradis said the first floor was most affected.
By Thursday, corridors had been taken over by whirring fans attempting to dry out the damp remains of Wednesday’s storm, as grey clouds gathered outside and the city was placed under another severe storm warning.
The problem was a drain on the western side of the building, which — like storm drains across the city — simply couldn’t keep up with the deluge.
The Federal Building didn’t escape, either, with water coming into the entryway, also requiring the help of mops and vacuums to clean it up. There were also reports of buckets in the pedway.
Still, Saar-Paradis said staff did “an amazing job” containing the water and making sure there was no damage.
