Even before the rain stopped on what was the wettest two hours in Estevan鈥檚 history, city crews and emergency response members were out, dealing with issues related to the rain, while emergency measures organization (EMO) was discussing how to handle the storm.
Estevan received more than 125 millimetres (five inches) of rain in the late afternoon and early evening of July 10. The rain swamped streets, flooded basements and drew the attention of people from across the country.
It forced the city to call a state of emergency for the first time since the flood of 2011.
The response to the storm, though, has drawn praise from many in the community.
Mayor Roy Ludwig lauded the city staff and emergency crews who worked long hours, and residents who helped out others.
鈥淲e had neighbours helping neighbours, and everyone pulling together,鈥� Ludwig said in an interview with Lifestyles.
The city鈥檚 staff and management worked long hours for several days to help mitigate the issues. Police officers, firefighters, EMS members, and employees from SaskPower, SaskTel and SaskEnergy were ready to respond to problems.
鈥淭he residents were very patient and understanding,鈥� said Ludwig. 鈥淓verybody made the best of a bad situation.鈥�
Ludwig pointed to experience as a factor in the response. Helen Fornwald is the city鈥檚 safety co-ordinator and the head of the EMO, has been in her role for several years. Fire Chief Dale Feser and Estevan Police Service Inspector Murray Cowan have lots of experience with their respective agencies. A lot of the city鈥檚 department heads have been in the community for years.
鈥淲e鈥檙e so happy to have that many staff members with that much experience,鈥� said Ludwig. 鈥淓verybody rolled up their sleeves and got right in and pitched right in, and started to mitigate the issues.鈥�
Ludwig is also thankful for the support offered by Weyburn and other cities in the province.
Norm Mack, who is the manager of the roads and drainage department at the city鈥檚 public works division, said he made his first call to foremen and staff within 15 minutes of the rain arriving.
鈥淭he first order of business, of course, is to load trucks up with barricades, and to barricade off Fourth Street once it鈥檚 flooded to prevent waves from coming through front windows, and to make sure our ditches are clear and ready to go,鈥� said Mack.
All that water overwhelmed the storm system and the sanitary sewer system, causing the sanitary sewer to be backed up into basements.聽
Much of the city lost power within an hour of the rain starting, so the city employees had to put up four-way stop signs at major intersections. The crews then worked until the wee hours of the morning, dealing with flooded areas, including streets, and clearing clogs from catch basins.聽
鈥淢any of the staff that came in, I really thanked them, because they鈥檙e going to work, doing this and fighting this water, knowing full well their house was going to get water,鈥� said Mack. 鈥淚t was nice to see that, without hesitation, a lot of workers showed up and helped us out.鈥�
Mack referred to it as 鈥渢he wettest day in the history of Estevan,鈥� as some residents reported they received more than 175 millimetres of rain.
鈥淎ccording to Environment Canada, that type of rainfall is above even hurricane proportions,鈥� said Mack. 鈥淪o what we endured was not just a flash flood; it was a storm of biblical proportions.鈥�
It鈥檚 the type of storm they don鈥檛 want to see again for a long time.
鈥淎ny city would be devastated by five to seven inches of rain in a couple of hours,鈥� said Mack.
Fornwald had lots of praise for the response, with the efforts of the emergency services and the city crews. She also knew this would be a bad storm shortly after it hit. The EMO started meeting at the Estevan Police Service before the storm was finished, with a partial team, and they continued to hold meetings and provide updates until the afternoon of July 13.
鈥淩ight from the first moment when we got called out on the Sunday night, it鈥檚 been a fast pace of mitigating it, getting everyone together and just trying to deal with the water that kept coming,鈥� said Fornwald.聽
They drew on a lot of resources, with police officers, the fire department and EMS. The Salvation Army was on standby in case evacuations were needed, and they set up a flood relief centre with the Canadian Red Cross at the Civic Auditorium.
The Ministry of Emergency Management and Fire Safety came to Estevan after the local state of emergency was declared. Once Ryan Norton, an emergency services officer from the ministry arrived, and saw the water, he arranged for a rapid response team from Prince Albert, with four responders and a logistics person, to come in and drain the water.聽
鈥淭here was a lot of equipment brought down,鈥� said Norton. 鈥淲e brought an empty cargo trailer, boats, and then a lot of pumps and hoses.鈥�
Fornwald echoed Ludwig鈥檚 statement that experience paid off. There was a thunderstorm that packed high winds in late June that required a quick response by emergency services and city staff.
The city also has some experience dealing with floods, since there was a significant storm last September that dumped about five inches of rain on the city. The experiences from the floods of five years ago also remain fresh in their minds.
鈥淚 was very impressed having with all the hands on deck, as quickly as possible, to mitigate the issues,鈥� said Fornwald.
The EMO is comprised of about 40 people, including alternates. There are representatives from city staff, city council, emergency services, Crown corporations, the Salvation Army, the Estevan Ministerial Association and other agencies.
The state of emergency was lifted on July 13. Now that it is over, the work following the storm will begin.
Fornwald said there will be a debriefing meeting on July 18, when all of the agencies will speak of their experiences, and discuss what worked and the areas that need improvement.
