Sask. MLA moved by community’s response to flood disaster

As Arborfield and surrounding municipalities pumped themselves out of ankle-deep flood waters Wednesday, the region’s MLA said he is proud of what the community accomplished in the face of near disaster.

Fred Bradshaw, MLA for Carrot River Valley, said it wasn’t easy for people living in the area given what Mother Nature recently doled out.

“It’s a bit of a disaster,” Bradshaw said, adding the major worry in Arborfield is a precarious berm along the Burntout Brook; if it fails, it could spell catastrophe for the small town.

“We’ve had a lot of damage and that’s not even counting the crop damage,” he said.

The MLA said many crops such as winter wheat and fall rye were knocked flat due to the wind and rain.

Bradshaw noted the actual cost of the flooding would only come to light much later.

He described the scene on the ground as busy, with evacuations in Arborfield and water pumping in Carrot River. As a long-time resident of the region, Bradshaw said he remembered floods in the past, but felt there was little a community could do to prepare itself proactively.

“This is kind of one of those things that happens. Let’s face it, you can’t build a storm system to be able to handle something like this,” Bradshaw said.

When asked about how long the state of emergency would stay in effect, Bradshaw said he kept his eye on the sky. He continues to watch the forecast, but added with a laugh, “sometimes they lie.”

The MLA was unable to say with certainty when life would get back to normal for people in the area.

Bradshaw applauded local volunteers who sandbagged through the night, and those who helped their neighbours clean flooded basements.

“Saskatchewan has the best volunteers in pretty well anywhere, truthfully. When times get tough, everybody gets together and gets to work, and gets things done,” he said.

–With files from Spencer Sterritt.