Carpet was being ripped up and soggy drywall was being cut out of Garth Whiteman’s wrecked rec room on Wednesday. His home was one of several properties with a flooded basement following a flash flood in Swift Current, Sask., on June 18.
According to Envrionment Canada, nearly 50 millimetres of rain fell in under an hour, overwhelming Swift Current’s storm sewer system.
“I’ve been here all my life and the only storm like this I remember is back in 1975 when the civic centre blew out. I’d never seen a storm like this in my life,” Whiteman said.
About three to four inches of water poured into Whiteman’s basement, flooding his rec room and a spare bedroom.
The cleanup job at Whiteman’s basement is one of several Dion Tumback is working on for Winmar Property Restoration Specialists.
Usually, Tumback is a drywaller but it’s been all hands on deck for flood work since the rain began to fall. He said the company is dealing with around 30 jobs between commercial and residential property.
Swift Current has seen more rain since the flood, adding to the work load.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of groundwater still with the continued rain. It still continues to come into the households and cause further damages,” Tumback said.
Commercial properties like Swift Current’s SGI claims office and government office, the E.I. Wood Building, were restored by Winmar within days of the flood to get them back up and running.
Most residential calls now involve ripping out basements and assessing property for what is restorable and what will be left for insurance.
“Now that we’re into the residential, we’re kind of in the rip out and rebuild stage and that’ll be a continuing process for the next few weeks for the households as well,” Tumback said.
- Posters promoting ‘Steal From Loblaws Day’ are circulating. How did we get here?
- Canadian food banks are on the brink: ‘This is not a sustainable situation’
- Video shows Ontario police sharing Trudeau’s location with protester, investigation launched
- Solar eclipse eye damage: More than 160 cases reported in Ontario, Quebec
Mayor Denis Perrault said he is overwhelmed to see the community coming together to help each other out during the flood recovery.
City council moved on their Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) application two days after the flood. Now, residents looking to apply for coverage through PDAP can pick up the application forms at city hall.
SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy said the Crown insurer has received 95 auto claims and 53 property claims since the flood hit. He added that SGI Canada is just one property insurer, and can’t speak for other agencies that may be providing coverage.
Perrault added it will likely be a few more weeks before they’re able to assess the full scope of the damage.
In the meantime, homeowners like Whiteman aren’t thrilled about the flood damage but taking it in stride.
“It’s nice to see the rain, we needed it. We just didn’t need it all at once,” he laughed.
“The farmers got two inches over the weekend and that’s going to help a lot. So I’m happy to see it, but it’s over now and done with so hopefully we don’t get another one.”
Comments