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Several Saskatchewan communities in the province’s southeast have sump pumps and fans working to dry out homes and businesses.
Katie Bjarnason, a dance studio owner in Churchbridge, said heavy rain, pea-sized hail, and strong winds blew on Sunday evening.
She received a text from a student that water was creeping close to the building.
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“Once I opened the door, I was in ankle deep in water all throughout the area,” Bjarnason said.
The Churchbridge dance teacher has only owned her the building for about a month, and her “heart sunk” when she saw the water.
Bjarnason said she and team of people worked for two and a half hours with shop vacuums and sump pumps to get the water out.
Katie Bjarnason found her dance studio filled with water on Sunday night. (213 Dance Academy/ Facebook)
“We had to rip up the flooring to get the water that was underneath it to get it mopped or to get it dried up,” she said. “I have to totally replace flooring now.”
The downpour brought two inches of rain – about five centimetres – in 40 minutes, Bjarnason said. Her own basement was flooded this morning.
“Lots of people have flooded basements,” she said. “Our Co-op is was sold out of pumps and shop vacs.”
Bjarnason is concerned more flooding could occur with rain in the forecast for later this week.
Kipling mayor considering applying for emergency flooding help
Mackenzie Tuchscherer was driving into Kipling for work when she saw what resembled lakes of water surrounding the community.
“I’ve never seen it this bad,” she said. “It’s probably been six or seven years since we’ve had rain like this.”
Tuchscherer said a large part of the town’s east side, about 155 kilometres southeast of Regina, is severely flooded.
“It’s washing out roads, it’s pulling fields in, the water’s moving quite fast,” she said. “We got a lot really fast, so nothing can keep up.”
The flooding is so bad, Tuchscherer said the sewer is beginning to back up into people’s basements.
The Town of Kipling issued a notice for residents to restrict water and sewer use as much as possible on Monday morning.
Mayor Pat Jackson said it was to early to determine a damage estimate, but she said the community would likely fill out an application for emergency flooding support.
“I’m seeing grass that I think grew six inches last night,” she said, about the rainfall.
The mayor took 980 CJME’s call while trying to pump water out of her own basement.
Town workers are focusing their efforts into draining areas on the east side of down, Jackson said, where one business near the road is three-quarters underwater.
Jackson said there was so much rain, water ran over the top of Highway 48 and covered Main Street for a period of time.
The mayor said she’s worried about weather warnings forecasting more rain.
“I’ve often said this: Mother Nature is off her meds, and so we don’t know what to expect,” she said. “We just have to manage what happens.”
