Crews respond as 13 Sask. communities declare emergencies due to flooding

Norquay is one of 13 communities that declared a local emergency due to flooding. (Submitted)

Due to localized flooding caused by intense rainfall, 13 communities in Saskatchewan have declared a local emergency, with crews on the ground to assist.

“Over the last number of days, we’ve had 11 new declarations of local emergency,” said Tyler Harrison, manager of emergency services with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) on Thursday.

Harrison noted the total does include several ongoing emergencies declared earlier in the spring. However, the bulk of them were just added this week.

According to Leah Clark, executive director of irrigation and economic development for the Water Security Agency (WSA), intense localized rainfall ranging from 100 millimetres (mm) to 275 mm was experienced in the east portion of the province from June 23 to June 30.

“These localized flood events are very difficult to predict and manage, and they’re driven by intense storm systems, which drop a lot of water in a short period,” she said.

The communities that have declared local emergencies are the towns of Kamsack, Raymore, and Norquay, the rural municipalities of Meadow Lake, Sliding Hills, Wolverine, Enzinger, St. Phillips, Livingston and Cote, and the villages of Sheho and Togo, as well as the Keeseekoose First Nation.

• Flash flood advisory in place for Keeseekoose, Cote First Nations

Cote First Nation has evacuated nine P1 individuals due to flooding, who are being supported by the community and the Red Cross.

P1 individuals include the elderly, children under five, and those with medical needs.

In addition to equipment like sandbags, pumps and hoses that are being sent out to the affected communities, Harrison said SPSA staff are offering their support on the ground.

“We do have people in place to help navigate the process for these communities,” he said. “We are prepared to be there for as long as it needs to be.”

Volunteer efforts

Reagan Foster and Jennifer Lindgren helped coordinate volunteer efforts in Norquay.

They say when rain started to fall on Sunday, it didn’t take long for it to overtake the community. The rain eventually overwhelmed the town’s sewer system and had virtually the entire town underwater at one point.

“It’s devastating because you can’t stop it,” Foster said. “It’s the natural flow of water and the rain wouldn’t stop.”

Foster said some homes were waist deep in water where freezers were floating, flipping over and spilling all of their contents.

“Baby pictures gone — all that kind of stuff. It’s pretty devastating,” Lindgren said. “Things were floating and you’re like, ‘This is people’s lives.’”

Travelling in the area was a challenge. Dan Palmer, senior communications consultant with the Ministry of Highways, said 17 highways near the community are closed as of Thursday afternoon.

“A highway might have multiple closures along the route. There are also 18 incidents of water on driving lanes on various portions of highways related to flooding,” Palmer said.

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That didn’t stop the town and surrounding neighbours from quickly getting to work.

Some volunteers were knocking on doors to make sure everyone was safe, others were building and delivering sandbags all over town, and dozens of nearby farmers and businesses started moving the water out once the rain stopped.

To fuel the workforce, others were cooking meals and bringing drinks to the town hall as their belongings floated in their basements.

“Anybody who owned a pump within a 50-kilometre radius was bringing in any kind of pumps, anything,” Lindgren said. “Our community is just amazing.”

Reflecting back on the devastation and the efforts to clean up Norquay amazed Lindgren and Foster, and helped bring the community together when called upon.

“Everyone was actually in tears last night because it started to hit everybody just how incredible everybody was,” Lindgren said.

Lindgren and Foster are in awe of how the community came together and handled the devastation, but they’re staying ready with a chance of rain in the forecast this weekend.

Looking ahead

Clark said the WSA is in contact with municipal operators of the drinking water and wastewater systems.

“These type of localized and intense flood events can create impacts to these systems. In times of flooding, water needs to be managed,” she said.

Clark noted there are currently no communities facing compromised drinking water.

She said the WSA continues to watch the forecasts for heavy rain, acknowledging those can change quickly.

“Communities including Regina, Moose Jaw, Weyburn, Saskatoon, and Estevan, face up to a 60 to 90 per cent chance of rain and storms. The heaviest rain tracks are expected in the southeast corner between Highway 1 and the U.S. border,” she said on Thursday.

Heading into the weekend, Clark said precipitation risks will drop.

“We’re watching closely to see if those change but that’s what we have in front of us now,” she said.

Palmer said crews and equipment are working to restore service as quickly and as safely as possible, noting that teams continue to monitor high-risk areas.

“As always, we remind motorists to please be alert, obey all signage and flag persons, along with driving to current highway conditions,” he said, encouraging residents to check Highway Hotline before heading out.

A snapshot of the current wildfire situation was also provided on Thursday. As of 2:30 p.m., there were 60 active wildfires in the province, with five contained, six not contained, 37 ongoing assessment, and 12 protecting values.

Wildfire updates can be found on the SPSA’s website.