No dams were compromised this time, but the memories of the flood of 2011 came floating back into the minds of many local residents on Sunday afternoon and evening when Mother Nature, once again, unleashed her fury on the Energy City.
This time Estevan was ready, or as ready as one can be, for a problematic weather pattern that saw about 100 mm of rain come down in sheets, bolstered by high winds which blew the rain and pea-sized hailstones, horizontally into local neighbourhoods. Tree leaves and flowering plants were shredded and many local roads had to be swiftly blockaded by fast-acting city public works employees as the water quickly spilled over the curbs when storm drainage systems were unable to keep up with the sudden burst of water.
By 9 p.m. emergency measures co-ordinator Helen Fornwald found time to speak to the media regarding the action plans and the potential of a further onslaught of rain and wind forcasted for Monday and Tuesday. She said, that meant the local state of emergency would remain in place until local officials could be assured that, indeed, the worst would be over.
Fornwald was joined by Estevan Police Service (EPS) Inspector Murray Cowan, RCMP Const. Chad Mehl and RCMP Sergeant Darren MacDougall (traffic division) along with City Manager Jeff Ward for the quickly called session held in the conference room at EPS headquarters.
Later, the Mercury was able to speak with Fire Rescue Chief Dale Feser regarding the responses made by their teams of responders.
Fornwald quickly listed seven roads within the city that were blocked off to traffic due to flooding or damaged infrastructure, noting that some of those blockades could remain in effect for a day or two, depending on the situation and recovery efforts.
Manhole covers on a few of the streets had been lifted by the force of the water surges and Cowan noted that in some instances, the difficulties were exacerbated when curious motorists insisted on driving through the flooded streets, causing rippling waves that caused even more damage to buildings that were already having water seeping under their doors.
Ward said they had received a call from Jim Reiter, the provincial minister responsible for disaster relief, indicating ongoing support and added, there would be a significant addendum to the report the city filed with the provincial disaster assistance program (PDAP) seeking compensation following the previous storm that saw damaging winds and rain hit the city, thus triggering the call for assistance at that time.
Duane McKay, fire commissioner and executive director of emergency management and fire safety for the province, said on Monday they had dispatched one emergency services officer to Estevan on Sunday and one officer at the operations centre was dedicated to the ongoing situation in Estevan on Sunday, moving into Monday. PDAP and health officials were ready to play their roles too, he suggested, once it was learned where they would fit into the process.
McKay also noted there is a cache of equipment, packed and ready as a result of the 2011 floods. These supplies were available for dispatch on semi-trailers, if needed in Estevan. That equipment consisted of such things as barriers, sand bags, pumps and hoses. He also said up to 300 Red Cross emergency kits had been assigned to Estevan.
Cowan said emergency response personnel within the city reacted quickly and there were enough police officers available, since the peak need arrived just as the shift changes were scheduled. “So the day shift just stayed on and the night shift joined them,” he said.
Const. Mehl said the local RCMP detachment had not received any calls from outlying areas requesting special assistance or any emergency response needs, but they would continue to monitor and do regular checks to ensure no one was in danger and they were prepared to supplement policing resources in Estevan on request. That sentiment was echoed by Sgt. MacDougall who promised additional personnel, upon request.
“We are in a holding pattern right now on that issue,” said Fornwald at the Sunday night briefing. She said a temporary evacuation centre had been set up at the Estevan Comprehensive School in the event any families needed to make use of that service. The Red Cross was co-ordinating that effort along with her team. Later in the evening, it was determined that the evacuation centre and registration would be moved to the police station for more convenience and the fact that only a few residents, at that time, would be needing to evacuate their homes, although they were keeping a close eye on the southern edge of the city. The centre has since been located in the Civic Auditorium with a few families evacuated from the south side of the city, registering for assistance and most finding accommodations with family or friends.
Feser said the fire rescue teams had responded to nine calls between 4:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
One call involved a fire at the Estevan water treatment plant that was “knocked down in a hurry and didn’t cause any structural damage and didn’t compromise the water service,” he said.
One family on the 700 block of George Street had to be evacuated after their basement wall collapsed. Feser said they attended that area and determined it was best to remove the family, since the damages were substantial enough to warrant it. The family spent the night with relatives.
Several additional calls were false alarms triggered by wet automatic alarm systems.
“We’ll send a few people home for a few hours to let them get a bite to eat and then they’ll be back and switch off with the others,” said Feser, referring to his team’s plans for the remainder of that evening heading into early Monday morning.
Following up on that report, Feser stated on Monday morning they had responded to three more calls, making the total response tabulation 12 call and that included a few minor fires and one more structural damage call in the 1300 block of Fourth Street.
“We stayed on standby at the site while SaskPower employees cut the power, then we were able to get in to suppress a minor fire at the Ritchie Brothers office. It was isolated to a small area and didn’t cause any further damage. Their bigger problem was the water, not the fire. That was around 11 p.m.”
The Fire Rescue team also attended to a carbon monoxide emergency call on King Street where they donned masks to eliminate the problem. The property owner had placed a generator, used to drive a pump to eliminate water, had placed it too close to the home which caused the family’s carbon monoxide alarm to be set off. The family left the home and phoned for emergency assistance.
Feser said none of the occupants required medical assistance since they had wisely evacuated at the first warning sign.
“If you are using generators, place them at least 15 feet from the home,” he said.
Feser also asked parents and other adults to stop children from entering the valley areas in and around Estevan since they are now filled with water, some of it unseen, and it could be unhealthy since some of that water may contain untreated sewage due to the extent of the water surges.
In total, Feser said the 20 fire rescue members on call worked in and out of a rotation throughout the day and night on Sunday and into Monday.
SaskWater officials also told the Mercury there was adequate room in Rafferty Dam to accommodate the sudden influx of a huge volume of water, even if the rains continued into the next couple of days.
Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the automatic recording station at the Estevan Airport recorded 73.1 mm of rain, or a little more than three inches. Most of that fell over a two-hour period, she said. Between 4 and 5 p.m., 26.1 mm fell and the following hour, the rainfall amounted to 39.4 mm.
Lang said she was not surprised that certain areas in the community recorded over five inches of rain that day. The single-day record for Estevan was set on July 11 of 1974 when 91.7 mm of rain was recorded.
More rain and potentially high winds remained in the weather forecasts for Monday and a bit more was perhaps in store for Tuesday before more assured relief could be found in the forecast for Wednesday.
