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People in east-central Saskatchewan are cleaning up after heavy rainfall has destroyed highways, damaged homes and turned fields into lakes this week.
Some communities, including Kamsack, Canora and Keeseekoose First Nation, have declared local states of emergency due to the flooding.
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said on Tuesday it was on standby waiting to hear from communities asking for support, but did not provide an update on Wednesday.
A park in downtown Canora, Sask., was one of many areas with several centimetres of sitting water on Wednesday. (Alex Kozroski/CBC)
“We’ve had some guys run some 24-hour days,” said Kelsey Rauckman, Kamsack’s public works manager.
Since Monday, he and his crew have been using vac trucks to pump out water from the town’s overwhelmed sewer system.
“I spoke with a lot of older people in [Kamsack] who said they’ve been here for 80 years and they’ve never seen anything like it — and hope they never do again,” Rauckman said.
Joe Levesque said he and his partner lost count of exactly how many pails of water they took out of their Kamsack, Sask., basement over the last three days. (Alex Kozroski/CBC)
Joe Levesque and his partner estimated they carried out around 1,700 litres of water from the basement of their Kamsack rental home over the last three days.
“Apart from my back killing me and my hip, I’m good,” Levesque told CBC News.
“I’m very tired, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
While his belongings were saved in the flood, Levesque said the water still left behind significant damage.
“Once I lifted up the boards, there was just a nightmare,” Levesque said, noting some of his landlord’s belongings, including a wedding dress, were ruined.
“Unfortunately, for her, a lot of her memories got destroyed.”
One resident told CBC News the flood water in this Canora, Sask., basement was estimated to be around one metre deep. (Submitted by Kirby Reaney)
In Canora, homeowners Mike and Theresa Deyneka have been on alternating shifts over the last few days, using shopvacs and mops to get water out of their basement.
“My body is shaking,” Theresa said.
“It got so out of control that we couldn’t keep up with two shopvacs. You couldn’t vacuum fast enough … not only was it coming from the north wall but it was coming from the west wall, too.”
Mike and Theresa Deyneka’s backyard in Canora, Sask., is submerged in water due to an overflowing drainage ditch nearby. (Laura Gillis/CBC)Vehicles submerged, damaged in washed-out roads
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Highway Hotline showed three main routes into Kamsack were closed due to the flood waters. Several other roads in the region also had detours in place for the same reason.
WATCH | Flooding takes out section of Highway 8 north of Kamsack, Sask.:
Flooding takes out section of Highway 8 north of Kamsack
A vehicle is submerged in water where flooding broke through Highway 8 north of Kamsack.
Charis Winslow, a summer student with the Ministry of Highways, was guarding a washout on Highway 8, between Kamsack and Pelly, on Wednesday.
“Lots of confused people and upset people [who were] frustrated. Lots of weekends ruined,” she said of the reactions from drivers when they were told to turn around.
An RCMP vehicle blew two tires and damaged its suspension after the driver attempted to pass over a partially collapsed section of Highway 8, road crews told CBC News. (Alex Kozroski/CBC)
Before crews arrived, Winslow said one vehicle fell into the fully collapsed part of the road. The driver and passenger are reportedly OK. In another case, she said an RCMP vehicle crashed into the partially collapsed road, damaging its tires and suspension.
After a break from the rain on Wednesday, Environment Canada forecasts more on-and-off showers Thursday afternoon and into the weekend. However, full sun and warmer-than-seasonal temperatures are expected in the region by next week.