The almost unbelievable scenes of flooding coming from Calgary and elsewhere in Alberta have shocked and saddened many of us, and while many magazines in the area have been affected, it’s encouraging to know that they and their staff are beginning the process of recovery and helping their communities do the same.
A note from Alberta Views magazine posted late yesterday, accompanying this photo of their staff, stated:
If you’ve tried to contact our office this week, please know that our building is still flooded and without power. We’ll be back up and publishing as soon as possible. Compared to many Albertans, we’re extremely lucky. And at least one small positive has come from all of this. The AV staff are diversifying our skills, particularly in the areas of home demolition and cleanup…! (Note the high-water mark near the top of the door.)
Elsewhere Janine Vangool, publisher and editor of UPPERCASE, published this note to her readers:
I am relieved that so much of my business is online and “in the cloud” and that even in challenging times it keeps us going. UPPERCASE supports me, my husband and our 3-year-old son as well as two employees, so it is always my biggest worry to ensure that the business can weather whatever storm.
Flood recovery @uppercasemag: team cleaning flooded homes, saying biz as usual, shop the online store, subscribe! http://t.co/qCRAfZWGAb
— AlbertaMagazinesAMPA (@albertamags) June 25, 2013
Routes magazine, based in the town of High River, posted:
So much left to do in town. They are trying to clear roads of all the stray cars, and berm is completed so the water can be drained and then the water treatment can get up and running! Please realize these things must be done for our own safety. There is not yet a re- entry support location to go to, no emergency or health services and no sewer, and limited power.
Magazines such as Avenue, Swerve, Western Horse Review, Highline, Windspeaker, Impact, Alberta Oil, Where Calgary and more are keeping readers informed of what they need to do for their own safety and how their businesses are affected.
5 ways to help rebuild Calgary after the flood. http://t.co/zacyip7upA #abflood #yycflood
— Avenue Calgary (@AvenueMagazine) June 25, 2013
And kudos to the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association team for working round the clock the past few days to keep all of us, and especially the Alberta magazine community, informed about the flooding, evacuation, donations and recovery, in spite of all the obstacles:
Turns out AMPA’s website and possibly email aren’t functioning. Meh. Peanuts in the grand scheme of things these days. Reach us on twitter @albertamags, here on Facebook, or we’ll be back in the office (and hopefully up and running) tomorrow: 403 262 0081
Recovery efforts are continuing today and it will likely be quite awhile before businesses and lives are back to normal. Our thoughts are with you, Alberta. The Canadian Red Cross is collecting donations to support the flood relief effort, while Alberta’s business community and government have pledged immense support for the recovery.
This is beautiful and touching, thank you so much, it’s wonderful to see this info compiled, and to learn that you’ve been following the updates. Further updates: the AMPA website is up and running (and, believe it or not, we’ve since learned it had gone down for reasons unrelated to the flood)! Thanks, and we’ll continue to keep you updated on our magazine community via twitter and facebook, as well as blog posts (much like this one!) as we work to compile more details and stories.