Drivers and divers: Rain wreaks havoc on Regina roads

Drivers in Regina were going to try to get around Friday come hell or high water — and the high water got some of them.

Vehicles getting submerged throughout the city was a common theme Friday, as the Regina Fire and Protective Services Water Rescue Team responded to almost half a dozen rescues before 11:30 a.m.

One location, the Albert Street underpass, had two separate rescues of its own only a few hours apart from each other. One driver was rescued around 7:30 a.m., before another rescue took place at the same location with a different vehicle around 10:30 a.m.

“Someone drove right through there, got stuck, and their vehicle was completely under the water,” said Kelly Lantic, who was walking near the area when the event unfolded. “This is crazy. This is another lake I guess.

“Might as well bring out our boats and maybe go swimming.”

Another person 980 CJME spoke with on the scene described seeing the vehicle choose to go through the flooded underpass as “shocking.”

“It’s pretty crazy,” the man said. “This is definitely not something you see every day.”

Neil Sundeen with Regina Fire and Protective Services said that as of noon, there had not been any injuries reported when it came to their rescues.

“You could imagine as the cars start to fill up with water, when it’s up above the windows, it can potentially be a real problem,” Sundeen said. “If it continues to rain, this will be an issue for a while.

“It’s not the first time this has happened and probably won’t be the last and we’ll just ask people to stay stay clear of any underpasses in the city.”

As the rain kept coming down through the morning, it got harder and harder to drive around the city.

“The water is kind of drifting across the road. You need to be careful if you’re in a car, a little car, because you could hydroplane really quickly,” said Karen, who called in to the 980 CJME newsroom.

She said the Broad Street underpass near the casino was flooded. She saw a bus make its way through, but didn’t think it would have been possible for a car.

“We thought we’d better not attempt it, so we did a real careful U-turn,” she said. “But there’s like a lineup of people behind us and we had to wave at people, ‘Get back, get back!’ ”

In for the long haul: Towing companies slammed

Towing companies in Regina were swamped after the city was hit with the torrential downpour.

Phones were ringing off the hook and, in some cases, calls were backlogged approximately one to two hours.

“It’s been a hectic day,” said Bob, owner of Big Yella Towing Auto Solutions. “It’s just a lot of water. Everyone is wet and every car is flooded.”

The rain began pouring on Thursday evening and carried into Friday. As a result of the water buildup, many drivers were getting stuck and abandoning their vehicles.

“A lot of the cars we can get to, but there are a few we can’t,” Bob said. “Anything that is flooded past the wheel or the fender of the car, we will avoid until it dries up or the water goes down a little bit.

“Basically if the water goes further past our knees, we don’t bother going after it. We will just wait.”

For those braving the streets, Bob had some advice.

“I think it comes down to people driving too fast through the water,” he said. “If they drove a little slower they probably would make it through. Everyone just needs to stay safe.”

— With files from 980 CJME staff