Flooding in Estevan. Photo courtesy of Wanda Harron.
The mayor of Estevan is hoping the worst is over, but the city is bracing for more rain after flash floods created a state of emergency.
Five to six inches of rain fell within a couple of hours yesterday afternoon causing widespread flooding. The city’s storm sewer system just couldn’t handle it. Streets turned to rivers, and some neighborhoods turned to lakes. The result was widespread basement flooding.
Estevan mayor Roy Ludwig says it happened very fast. He is grateful no one was hurt.
“Thank God, there has been no injury to date,” he said.
Ludwig says city crews jumped into action quickly and kept damage to a minimum. He says the team did an excellent job.
“They were proven in the 2011 flood and every time we have an emergency they come to the forefront,” he said. “We have an absolutely fantastic team so we can count on them.”
The water has been receding, and the clean up is well underway. Ludwig says he is working with the province and the Red Cross is on its way to help out. His big worry is more rain. It is in the forecast, up to another inch today. He says that would be hard to take.
“We are trying to keep up right now, if we had another dump of rain it will be a real tough situation.”
The province says if the situation were to worsen they would be prepared for a city-wide evacuation.
So-far one trailer court has been evacuated, but the province’s Emergency Management commissioner says they have only had to put up 2 families in hotels.
“So most of those people are looking after themselves, going to family and friends and not requiring any assistance,” said Duane McKay. “The Red Cross has responded with 300 cleanup kits, so many of these individuals will need these very soon.”
McKay also says the city’s infrastructure appears to be holding up well against the flooding. One basement did collapse because of the flooding and officials say they will continue to monitor these case by case situations.
“Those assessments will be conducted on a regular basis to ensure that in the event that the flooding has caused any problems not seen right now we will still be able to provide immediate assistance.”
McKay also said overall the community responded very well to the crisis.
There were some issues with the SaskAlert App, but McKay says they have already rectified the issue.
Estevan is the first to experience a state of emergency because of this storm system, but it may not be the last. Environment Canada has issued heavy rainfall warnings for dozens of communities in southern Saskatchewan and as far north as Saskatoon. 70 to 100 millimeters or about four inches of rain is forecast over the next 48 hours.
According to reports Lloydminster is experiencing a heavy downfall as well, but a state of emergency has not been declared.