By Karen Briere
Floodwaters are receding, but 74 Saskatchewan communities remained under local states of emergency on Tuesday morning as officials warned people to stay off of Crooked and Round Lake.
Aerial inspection has shown a lot of debris in those lakes, which reached record flood levels several days ago, and there is a significant risk of boat accidents.
All of the Qu’Appelle Lakes are in decline, except for Last Mountain Lake. Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency control structure at Craven has been open since March 2013 and is not holding back any water, the agency said. Debris is constantly removed.
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The Quill Lakes are already at higher levels than 2013’s historical highs. Drivers should watch for the impact of the high water on Grid 640 north of Wynyard. Wind and waves can increase the impact.
Flows on the Assiniboine and Whitesand Rivers are declining, but water levels will remain high all summer.
Local states of emergency have expired or were terminated in the rural municipalities of Porcupine, Garry and Kelvington, the villages of Stockholm, Quill Lake and Maryfield, and the towns of Grenfell, Watson and Saltcoats.
Emergency officials said the focus has switched to cleanup in many locations.
Meanwhile, Environment Canada has updated its assessment of the number of tornadoes to hit Saskatchewan last weekend. It now says six twisters, two of them more serious, occurred between about 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. July 5.
The first, which destroyed much of the Derdall farm near Outlook, is rated at ef2, with estimated wind speeds of 180 to 220 kilometres per hour.
The second touched down near Kenaston around 3:20 p.m., and damaged gates, trees and tombstones at the town’s cemetery. It’s rated ef0 with winds of 90 to 130 kilometres per hour.
The other four, all in the Kenaston and Davidson area, touched down briefly and didn’t cause significant damage.
