Flooding prompts evacuation of southeast Calgary Walmart

A Walmart location in the southeast Calgary community of Shawnessy has closed its doors to customers until engineers can determine whether the roof is structurally sound after the store was flooded with water on Tuesday afternoon.

According to acting battalion chief Frank Ostrow, crews with the Calgary Fire Department were called to the Walmart at 310 Shawville Blvd. S.E. at 3:21 p.m. for a report of flooding.

He said when firefighters arrived, they examined the roof and noted it had significant snow and water buildup. He added that drains from the roof were backed up which may have triggered the flooding.

Firefighters decided to evacuate the store as a precaution and Walmart called in vacuum and water trucks to remove the water.

Ostrow said the Walmart store would remain closed overnight and that the retail giant was bringing in engineers on Wednesday to determine if the roof is still structurally sound.