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The flooding situation in Saskatchewan is improving now that the rain has stopped.
Estevan lifted its local state of emergency Wednesday afternoon, and Arborfield followed suit lifting its mandatory evacuation Thursday as a result of water receding.
Both places were hit hard by torrential rain over the past several days.
Other communities remain under local states of emergencies including the rural municipality of Carrot River and Shoal Lake Cree Nation.
Rainfall has been a measure of how bad things got in some places, as more than 100 millimetres, about four inches, fell in northeast and east Saskatchewan.
Reports from Estevan suggest as much as 130 millimetres, more than five inches, fell in the area. That amount set records at the Water Security Agency.
In Carrot River and Arborfield, officials monitored Burntout Brook; at peak flow, 65 cubic metres of water per second passed by.
“There’s approximately a one in 200 year flow, so that would be a record at this gauge,” said Patrick Boyle at the WSA.
Many people were impacted as a result of the flood. The Ministry of Social Services said it’s supporting 36 individuals from Estevan, Arborfield and Shoal Lake.
“There’s definitely more people out of their homes than who we are supporting, but we only have numbers of those that have registered with us,” said Deanna Valentine at the ministry.
The Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) moved quickly into action, assisting 350 people affected by flooding. The number represents 15 communities and could be a person calling individually, for a family or from an RM or town.
Crews from both SaskPower and SaskEnergy were on the ground working with communities. Gas won’t be turned on in Arborfield until the town returns to normal; 190 customers lost their service.
SaskPower reports between 5,000 and 6,000 customers lost power for four-and-a-half hours Sunday as the torrential rain hit. The Crown corporation is now looking at power poles, sink holes and other structures to ensure power remains.
Rain also impacted road access at Red Earth, Shoal Lake and Cumberland House First Nations; although, the impact has not been significant.
People in need of help, who are impacted by the flooding, are asked to call the PDAP response line at 1-866-632-4033.
