Yorkton cleaning up after major storm

Yorkton was partially underwater Thursday night after the city got walloped by a Saskatchewan storm.

Mayor Mitch Hippsley said the city was due for a storm, but said residents didn’t know for sure what to expect until it hit.

The mayor said the rain started falling around 9 p.m. on Thursday. The city saw about two inches of rain in a five-hour period and lots of marble-sized hail that caused damage to trees, streets and cars.

“We were hit very hard,” he said. “The streets were overwhelmed with water.”

Throughout the evening, Hippsley said two city crews worked to manage the sewer systems, trying to keep the grates from being clogged by branches and leaves.

“The winds were just incredible,” he recalled.

While the mayor didn’t hear of any power outages, he said many residents — especially in the northeast part of the city — experienced flooding.

“We were watching the water come in downstairs a little bit,” he said, though he noted their own flooding was hardly comparable to the damage others are facing.

To try and mitigate damage from the storm, Hippsley said the city installed some roadblocks to prevent people from driving on certain streets and pushing more water into residents’ yards.

“It’s incredible to see the wrath of nature … and it’s great to know that Mother Nature’s still in charge,” Hippsley said, sounding optimistic the day after the storm.

The mayor said the wild weather has dissipated now, and the city is in the midst of its cleaning process.

“It’s a big city, and we’ve got a good crew of people that are busy out there with their trucks and rakes,” he said.

People living in the city have been encouraged to help clean up the streets and their yards, ridding them of fallen branches and other debris.

Hippsley predicted the process will take a few days, if not a few weeks.