Rapid melt leading to localized flooding warning in Thompson

Parts of Thompson are underwater as the city’s drain system struggles to keep up with a rapid spring melt.

The City of Thompson is warning residents that some roads may be flooded because the storm drain system can’t keep up with the melting snow.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, the city said there has been a rapid melt happening, which has led to more runoff than what the storm drain system can handle.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the forecast for Wednesday is mainly sunny with a high of 16 C.

“Public Works worked an evening shift on Tuesday, May 12 to remove debris from catch basins, flush storm drainage lines, check outflows and remove grates from storm drains in some areas to speed up the rate that standing water drains,” the city said in the post. “Crews will be continuing this work all day and into the evening on Wednesday, May 13 to aid the drainage process.”

People are being told to find other routes and not drive through any flooded roads if their vehicles aren’t high enough to drive through.

Also, pedestrians are asked to watch for any markers that are in place to highlight open storm drains and to stay away from puddles, as their depth might be greater than expected.

The city doesn’t expect the situation to improve over the coming days either, as rain is expected on Thursday and then temperatures are set to drop below freezing until the weekend.