Swift Current declares local emergency due to flooding

By Hayden Michaels

The City of Swift Current has declared a local emergency due to ongoing flooding.

The announcement was made during a special city council meeting Tuesday.

While no homes have been swept away yet, this pre-emptive measure will allow the city to take action more easily and readily acquire and deploy resources.

Presenting the matter to Swift’s Current city council was chief administrative officer Jim Jones.

“Due to rapid snow melt resulting from unseasonably high temperatures over a very short period, the City of Swift Current has been experiencing flooding beginning April 11, 2023, from the high water levels of the Swift Current Creek,” said Jones.

City crews and workers have responded quickly to the rising water, setting up barricades at low spots and closing down dangerous sections, like the Lee Lam Bridge, where the water has overtaken the road.

Swift Current Fire Department Chief Ryan Hunter leads the response to these conditions. He and his firefighters have been closely monitoring and preparing for this situation.

“What an emergency declaration does is it allows us to access more equipment quickly from the province without having to go through multiple layers of forms and multiple agencies to get the answer or get the equipment,” said Hunter.

Under the local emergency status, the city will have the authority to not only bring in more equipment but also to evacuate homes should they become too dangerous to stay in.

“It gives us the powers to do that and assist people in getting out of their homes,” said Hunter. “It protects the people, and it protects our property.”