Extreme Weather in Canada - The Canadian Encyclopedia: "The worst blizzard in Canadian railway history occurred between January 30 and February 8, 1947, when 10 days of blowing snow buried towns and trains from Calgary to Winnipeg. Some Saskatchewan roads and rail lines remained impassable until spring. Children stepped over power lines on their way to school and people dug tunnels to their outhouses."
We have a ways to go this year before there is any comparison to 1947. However worry lines are already beginning to appear across the brows of many a civic leader on the prairies well before spring. The idea is that being proactive is the smarter thing to do rather than mop up the consequences of being ill prepared. "Be prepared to fill sandbags" said one report, and another spoke of the monies that are now being earmarked in January for berms and levies.
Time will tell of course just how effective and 'proactive' humans really can be given that the powers of nature can never be predicted.
i will ask my mother who was raised in Corinne Sk to see if she can find her copy. I remember looking at several pics taken of the train buried that year.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anonymous that would be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is a book or a chapter of a book dedicated to the many stories of the 1947 blizzard ~ especially from eastern Saskatchewan. Moreover, I would encourage you to put out an APB for pictures and stories from the M.D. of Orkney and from past and present residents of Ebenezer, Saskatchewan. I have seen the pictures you are asking about, and have talked to those who lived through it. Try Arlan Fandrey of Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
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