ALBION, Idaho — Over 100 volunteers gathered in Albion on Monday morning to fill sandbags as the small community braces for potential flooding due to warm and wet weather.
The recent weather has caused multiple creeks and drainage ditches in Albion to overflow, overwhelming the city's limited sewer and storm drain system. Heavy rain on Sunday night inundated some areas, prompting residents and volunteers to prepare for more flooding.
"Every few years this happens, and I guess it happened to be this year," said Albion resident Blaine Phillips, whose property was spared, though his neighbors were not as fortunate.
"We're from the Burley area and we brought some guys from our store, the sprinkler shop, and we've got about eight people here, a bunch of youth here, it's pretty awesome to see everybody come out and support Albion," said Drew Terry, a volunteer from Burley.
"It's pretty cool to be a part of a community like this, that help each other out and just kind of be there for one another," said Kaylor Hansen, a senior from Raft River High School.
Albion Mayor Issac Loveland tells Idaho News Six that the city's infrastructure was not equipped to handle the volume of water from the recent rains.
Local resident, Blaine Phillips, explained how the small city's location is to blame, "Where we live in this little valley you've got hills here, hills there, and hills here and it all funnels down," he said, describing the challenges faced by the community.
Ahead of the expected rain, the city prepared 2,500 sandbags on Friday, but those were quickly used on Sunday night. On Monday, the community called for help from the rest of Cassia County to fill more bags.
Floodwaters began to retake portions of roadways in low-lying areas by mid-day Monday, and officials continue to monitor the situation closely.
Tragically, one person died due to a medical condition while trying to protect their home from the floodwaters.
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