Emergency Response and Recovery Update: July 30, 2014

Released on July 30, 2014

• Emergency Services Officers remain in contact with the communities responding to requests for advice and providing information on referrals to the proper agency, Crown or Ministry for information and support – Public Health and the Water Security Agency for water quality issues, and the Ministry of Environment for debris management issues.

• For the 2014 heavy rain events, PDAP has approved 167 municipalities for designation under the program.  In total, PDAP has received 1,734 claims.
• As claims are submitted, they are triaged to determine if they qualify for a $3,000 emergency advance on the total claim.  To date, 78 claims have triggered a $3,000 emergency advance payment for a total of $234,000.  Emergency Advance Payments are provided to an eligible claimant within 10 days of submitting a completed application.  The emergency advances are sent to the claimant via Xpress post.
• Once an eligible claimant submits their completed application, an adjuster will review the damages.  Claimants can generally expect a payment within 90 days of the adjuster’s visit.
• For more information on PDAP, or to begin the claims process, contact 1-866-632-4033 or visit http://gr.gov.sk.ca/PDAP.

• The majority of lakes and rivers across the province have reached peak levels and most are in recession.  Last Mountain Lake is declining slowly as the outflows are relatively small compared to the size of the lake.  Outflows coming from Last Mountain Lake will keep flows in the Qu’Appelle River and levels in the downstream lakes higher than normal for the rest of the recreational season.
• An exception to the decline is in the closed basins such as Big Quill Lake (those areas with no outlet) where water is continuing to rise slowly or will remain high until evaporation exceeds inflow.  Big Quill Lake and Little Quill Lake are at a record level.  Inflows from the end of June rain event are now almost over, so the lakes are stabilizing.  High levels are impacting farmland and roads, especially Grid 640 running north from Wynyard.
• Yorkton Creek is slowly declining but  flows, at 30m3/s, are well above normal levels as water accumulated in the Yorkton South complex of wetlands slowly drains off.
• Emma and Christopher Lakes remain very high. Water Security Agency is operating to bring levels down.

• The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure continues to repair flood-damaged roads and restore full access for motorists in the southeast and east-central parts of the province.
• Several permanent bridge repairs are underway in the extreme southeast of the province. Motorists may encounter rough patches, soft spots or one-lane traffic at these and other locations.  In addition, Highway 18 between the junction with Highway 8 and the Manitoba border is restricted to 20 tonnes gross vehicle weight.  All drivers are reminded to obey flagpersons and slow to the posted speed during construction.
• Highway 22 from west of Neudorf to Killaly and Highway 229 west of Highway 9 remain closed.
• Current road conditions, including traffic restrictions are available on the Highway Hotline at www.saskatchewan.ca/live/transportation/highway-hotline or by calling 1-888-335-7623.

• The Agriculture Knowledge Centre (1-866-457-2377) is available to respond to farmers and ranchers regarding the flooding situation, and to provide agronomic information and program advice.
• Producers are also reminded of the Ministry’s Forage, Feed and Custom Service Listing, which can be found at www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/FeedForageListing.

• Producers have been contacting their local Crop Insurance offices to report crop damaged from the heavy rain event and from storm activity in areas around the province.
• As of July 29, 2014, SCIC has received 792 pre-harvest claims* from producers.  A pre-harvest claim is filed when the producer decides not to harvest the damaged crop and puts that crop to an alternate use (i.e. spraying for weed control).  Please note, some of these claims are from other storm and hail activity in the province.
• All Crop Insurance customers are covered for flooding on insured crops through the multi-peril yield-loss program.  The majority of claims from the heavy rain event will be filed in the fall, following harvest, as producers measure whether their actual crop production meets their insured production.

• Currently Crooked Lake Provincial Park is open for business and all camping services are restored with the exception of a couple sites which remained closed from flood damage.  Service centres are all operational.
• The boat launch facility is currently closed.  Staff are working hard to have it open for the August long weekend.  The beach has sustained considerable damage and is not fully operational.

For more information, contact:

Jay Teneycke
Government Relations
Regina
Phone: 306-798-6095
Email: jay.teneycke@gov.sk.ca