flooded home
flooded homeReuters

As many as 100,000 people may be evacuated from their homes by heavy flooding in western Canada, Calgary city officials said,

Mudslides have already forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway, isolating the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore.

Torrential rains and widespread flooding poured down on southern Alberta on Thursday, leaving one person missing, with furniture—including cars, couches and refrigerators -- floating away, according to reports.

Communities were hit hard just south of Calgary, a city of more than a million people that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Many downtown neighborhoods were notified of possible evacuations toward the end of the day, with officials saying that the evacuations would take place in stages over the next few days.

The province reported that 12 communities were under states of emergency.