A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for Arborfield, Sask. because of flash flooding.
A hold-back road about 12 kilometres south of Arborfield has given way, causing water to run towards the town. Water was expected to reach the community around 6 p.m. Tuesday.
About 400 people will be forced to leave. Door-to-door notifications are underway.
The SaskAlert app warned of the potential flash flood.
"The town of Arborfield has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the entire town as flood waters approach that have the potential to create dangerous situations and extreme flooding," the alert said.
Shortly after the order was issued, Al Bronner, deputy reeve of the rural municipality, said that about 75 per cent of people were planning to stay and protect their homes.
"I don't blame them. I wouldn't want to leave either," he said. "Because I think we can beat this one -- hopefully."
He said the expected water had room to spread out before reaching the town, which was hit with a deluge of rain on Monday. The town's nursing home was evacuated on Monday.
Arborfield was one of four Saskatchewan communities under states of emergency due to flooding caused by heavy rain. And it wasn't over yet. A rainfall warning continued for a large swath of the province stretching from the southwest corner to the northeast.
A downpour turned roads into rivers in Arborfield and Carrot River, as well as in the Rural Municipality of Arborfield.
Matters hadn't improved much in the southeastern city of Estevan, where storm sewers were unable to keep up with at least 130 millimetres of rain that fell in just over two hours on Sunday.
Mieka Cleary, deputy emergency management commissioner, said the province had sent flood equipment to help stricken communities.
"Some of the flood equipment that's been sent out are sandbagging machines and sandbags. We also have staff out there teaching the communities how to effectively use those sandbag machines," Cleary said at the province's emergency management office in Regina.
"We also have sent out hoses and pumps and that type of thing, so that they can be set up in areas that are pooling the water."
She said the long-term care home in Arborfield has been evacuated, but that water had not entered the facility. It was evacuated last night as precaution and sand bags holding.
Several area highways, including Highway 23, have suffered washouts and are now closed.
Meanwhile, several homes in Estevan have also been evacuated. Mayor Roy Ludwig says the city is still under a state of emergency.
The local Walmart along with several homes and other businesses flooded after Sunday evening’s downpour. The Red Cross has handed out dozens of clean-up kits today to help residents cope with the damage.
An Estevan insurance company says damage from the flooding is notw in the tens of millions with more than 500 claims and more on the way.
The compressor room in Affinity Place was among the areas flooded. Estevan's mayor says the cost could reach $150,000.
Environment Canada has issued rainfall warnings for several Saskatchewan communities.
The weather agency said 50 to 75 millimetres of rain had already fallen by Tuesday morning and a further 10 to 25 millimetres was likely over the course of the day.
Two-day rainfall totals could be as high as 100 millimetres by Wednesday morning, the agency said.
"Some of the hardest areas hit yesterday ... have stabilized now, or are starting to stabilize, and are not necessarily going to receive as much precipitation today as originally thought," said Cleary. "That's good for them to be able to ... start moving into that recovery mode."
However, emergency officials were still closely watching as the weather system moved east through Saskatchewan towards Manitoba, she said.
"You have to look at what other events have happened previous to this and the soil saturation levels ... that already exist. In some areas that have received other precipitation in other events lately, they may not have the capacity to actually absorb the water that they would get from this system."
With files from The Canadian Press
