Estevan residents work to dry out flooded basements

People in Estevan continue to dry out after torrential rain caused flash flooding on Sunday afternoon.

Wade Bye had all but given up by Monday afternoon and was in bare feet. The water in his newly finished basement was still ankle-deep.

At the height of the storm, he says it just didn’t stop.

“It was coming in through the shower, coming in through the drain behind the washing machine,” he explained.

Like many of his neighbours, there is nothing he can do but try and dry out.

He is doing his best to bail out water any way he can while at the same time preparing for more.

“I brought everything I could from the basement upstairs,” he said.

One of the hardest hit streets for flooding in Estevan is the location of a seniors’ complex.

“It all soaked through in here, this was all under water in here,” John Meckel described walking through his basement.

His is the only house in the seniors’ complex to have a basement, so while others only had to worry about a flooded parking garage, he had to deal with more damage.

On Monday the carpet was still squelchy underfoot. He and his wife Pauline are in their 80s dealing with the clean up.

“It’s all soaking wet in underneath, so either we’re going to have to take this out or… I don’t know,” he said.

He said he won’t be able to tell what they have to do with the drywall until they cut into it.

All they can do for now is hope they dry out before more rain comes.

Meanwhile, hardware stores in Estevan are doing their best to keep up with customers needs following the flooding.

“Pumps, hose, fans, shop vacs … anything to clean up, all kinds of different hoses,” said Dorothy Ward, manager of the local Peavey Mart, listing off the items most in demand in the aftermath.

She said they had to pick up more stock from the Weyburn Peavy Mart location and now the Regina store is also preparing to send more if it is needed.

Duane MacKay, the commissioner of emergency management for the province, spoke to media in Saskatoon about the situation in Estevan Monday.

“We did see a trailer court having to be evacuated. A little bit of trouble with flooded streets; however, overall, the community responded very well,” MacKay said.

He said one or two families were forced to stay in a hotel, and added crews attended to four structure fires in the city caused by flooded electrical panels.

A provincial emergency services manager was sent to help in the southeast Saskatchewan city Sunday night.

Saskatchewan Red Cross has also delivered 300 cleanup kits to the area.

MacKay said the province is ready to deploy flood equipment –such as barriers, sand bags and trucks –stored from previous years to communities as needed.

As of Tuesday, the rainfall alerts were over for the southeast, but Environment Canada advised that even a small amount of rain could cause problems for water-logged areas.

Clean up time at one seniors residence as the ground-level parking lot flooded. The volunteers were 80+! #estevan pic.twitter.com/YsKeNWGxHf

— Sarah Mills (@smillsSK) July 11, 2016

The water and squelch is still evident in John and Pauline Mickel’s basement. #sk storm #Estevan pic.twitter.com/r5Xl2gsRIv

— Sarah Mills (@smillsSK) July 11, 2016

The remnants of a flooded basement thanks to the #skstorm in #Estevan pic.twitter.com/quKSjiZmAU

— Sarah Mills (@smillsSK) July 11, 2016

The water isn’t going anywhere yet in this underground parking lot. #Estevan #skstorm pic.twitter.com/rE0E6RktXt

— Sarah Mills (@smillsSK) July 11, 2016

The water is past knee level when you wade in. #Estevan #skstorm pic.twitter.com/rnsZlo0Onk

— Sarah Mills (@smillsSK) July 11, 2016

You can see where the water line was on Willow Bay in #Estevan. #skstorm pic.twitter.com/iQaxeX4AkB

— Sarah Mills (@smillsSK) July 11, 2016

This is the current state of Wade Bye’s house. His house is on one of the worst streets in #Estevan #skstorm pic.twitter.com/1plXqVAPNG

— Sarah Mills (@smillsSK) July 11, 2016

Wade Bye finished his basement just a couple of months ago. It is more than ankle deep right now. #estevan #skstorm pic.twitter.com/56TXVZzHqf

— Sarah Mills (@smillsSK) July 11, 2016