I lived in a condo by the Elbow River in Calgary.

I was at work, and a office wide email I went around saying that the local river was flooding, and anyone living in my area might be evacuated and should go home to make preparations. I live on the fifth floor of a condo and had a fair bit of food, so I figured I'd be fine. So, I worked for a few hours more, then left work a couple hours early to take advantage.

When I got home, people were literally carrying their furniture and TVs out the front door of the building. It hit me that maybe I should take this seriously. So I called a friend and packed a small bag, and went to spend the night at his place.

The news covered the flooding and clearly showed my condo with 5 feet of brown water in the lobby. A week later, we were able to access the building and it was just devastation. The stairwells were filled with beer bottles and needles. Volunteers were guarding the doors and locker area. The underground garage - 3 levels - was full of water. People in houses had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars of their stuff.