Saskatchewan agriculture officials say it’s too soon to tell how crops will come through last weekend’s flooding.
Crop insurance corporation CEO Shawn Jaques said calls from farmers began coming in June 30, mostly from southeast Saskatchewan where as much as 240 millimetres of rain fell.
However, flooding has occurred as far north as the Red Earth First Nation and Shoal Lake areas right down to the U.S. border.
“At this point it’s too early for us to speculate on the magnitude of crop loss,” Jaques said July 1.
He also said some crops could recover depending on how much water they were under and how fast it dries up. The forecast for the rest of this week was for warm dry weather.
June 25 was the deadline to report unseeded acres and that data is still being compiled. Coupled with flood claims, crop insurance staff will be busy.
Premier Brad Wall noted that employees at the crop insurance head office in Melville were taking calls even as their own community was hit hard.
The hospital and long-term care home were evacuated beginning 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning as a precaution.
Health ministry spokesperson Merv Tippe said 24 acute care patients were affected. Nine were moved to Esterhazy, four to Yorkton, two to Ituna and nine discharged.
The 127 residents of the long-term care facility were relocated to the city’s arena and are expected to be moved again to facilities within the Sunrise health region.
Reports that the city’s dam had failed proved to be false.
“The dam itself is holding,” said Water Security Agency spokesperson Patrick Boyle. “The dam has not been breached.”
However, water was flowing around the earthen dam and causing flooding.
Wall and a cabinet committee plan to tour the affected areas on Wednesday.
A total of 53 cities, towns, villages, rural municipalities and First Nations had declared states of emergency as of Tuesday morning. That was up from 36 the day before.
Added to the list were the towns of Carnduff, Lemberg, Wawota and Regina Beach, the villages of Silton, Calder and Storthoaks, the RMs of Antler, Langenburg, Good Lake, Abernethy, Mount Pleasant, Kingsley and Elfros, and the First Nations of Peepeekisis, Kawacatoose and Ochapowace.
Grenfell terminated its emergency declaration Tuesday.
Nineteen sections of highway were under water or compromised by water, leading to lengthy detours. Major blocked routes include the TransCanada between Balgonie and Whitewood, the Yellowhead between Elfros and Dafoe, and Highway 10 from Balcarres to Yorkton.
The highways hotline, not usually staffed in summer, will be operating during the flood so people can call for up-to-date information.
About 250 people evacuated from Gainsborough were still out of their homes, along with five families from Yorkton, five families from Sakimay First Nation and about 50 people from Shoal Lake, who were all in hotels.
Meanwhile, Wall said early estimates — and he stressed both words — indicate this flood could cost more than the $360-million 2011 event because it is more widespread. Of that, the province paid $163 million and Ottawa paid the rest.
“There will be an impact financially,” Wall said. “We have a rainy day fund and we will use it.”
He said the agricultural impact will be large. Officials said there had been no calls about stranded livestock but they will be available to any producers who need help.
No injuries have been reported.
The WSA’s Boyle added that officials are keeping a close eye on the lakes in the Qu’Appelle Valley. Crooked Lake is 1.5 metres higher than its normal summer level and rising rapidly. Round Lake is one metre above its normal level and also rising quickly. Echo and Katepwa lakes are also above normal levels.
Last Mountain Lake is 1.09 metres above its normal level.
Boyle said officials will be revising their estimates as the week goes on.
He said outflows from Alameda Reservoir continue at three cubic metres per second. Rafferty and Boundary are not affected by this event.
Two provincial parks, Good Spirit and Crooked Lake, have been affected and campers are being moved to drier ground. Those who have reservations at any parks in the affected areas should call before heading out.
For images of the flooding visit www.producer.com/2014/07/flooding-hits-rural-and-ag-hard-in-sask-and-man/
