Family home in Canora possibly destroyed by thunderstorm flooding

Several communities, including Canora, remain under local states of emergency following severe storms and flooding. Mick Favel reports.

A family in Canora is uncertain if they will be able to move back into their home after it flooded during a rainstorm.

In the early morning of June 29, the Bushell family awoke to find water and sewage coming through their basement pipes.

A septic pump has been running nonstop to clear out the basement.

“We pretty much lost our whole house. We have no running water to use. We can’t flush a toilet,” said Amanda Bushell, one of the homeowners.

The family of four are currently living in a camper located on their front lawn while the cleanup continues.

To help other town residents in the same situation, the Bushells have opened the parking lot of their workshop.

Town residents can bring their damaged goods to the lot where it will then be taken to a garbage dump.

A consistent amount of garbage has been dropped off since the lot opened.

“It doesn’t matter who got hit the hardest. We are all feeling it. People are pulling stuff out of the basements,” said Bushell.

“The humidity, mold and bacteria. The more it sits, the more it rises in your house,” she added.

Through a social media post on Friday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said 14 communities have submitted declarations of local emergency.

The SPSA is in contact with these areas and is supplying pumps, hoses, and sandbags.

Environment Canada said the severe storm that hit Canora originated from the United States.

The large amount of rain Saskatchewan has been dealing with this year may have to do with the wind.

“There just hasn’t been a lot of strong upper-level winds that push the systems away,” said Kyle Ziolkowski, a meteorologist from Environment Canada.

“It’s almost the same weather every day. Showers and thunderstorms.”

The Bushell family will not abandon their home. They plan to continue the cleanup while watching the weather forecast.

“How much more of the house can [we] lose? We got lots of rain in our forecast. Everyone is at a loss here,” said Bushell.