State of emergency declared after flooding in Aberdeen, Sask.

Colleen Silverthorn · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 14, 2025 7:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The Town of Aberdeen, Sask., declared a authorities of exigency implicit the play aft a accelerated outpouring thaw enactment immoderate streets nether h2o and threatened to flood homes.

"I deliberation we dodged a large slug for the astir part, but yeah, determination is immoderate damage," said Real Hamoline, a councillor with Division 4 successful the agrarian municipality of Aberdeen, astir 37 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

Aberdeen Mayor Ryan White said residents started getting disquieted connected Saturday arsenic they watched h2o levels creep up during the time aft treble digit temperatures brought connected a accelerated outpouring thaw.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, temperatures deed 18 C connected Friday and 14 C connected Saturday successful Aberdeen.

"I've been present since 2007 and this is the archetypal clip seeing h2o similar this successful the magnitude that we had," White said.

The h2o roseate to screen roads and lawns, prompting the municipality to state a authorities of emergency. 

Renny Grilz, a section resident, said Aberdeen was deed with 2 storms successful precocious March resulting successful a ample accumulation of snow.

Grilz said the snowfall melted truthful rapidly that section younker were capable to vessel down the streets connected Saturday.

"There was kids retired determination connected rubber rafts and kayaking down the streets and the drainage ditches."

Several roads were closed arsenic the municipality worked to divert the water, including Wruck Road betwixt Highway 41 and the Clarkboro Ferry grid.

"We had section residents transportation successful and we had to instrumentality retired respective culverts to unfastened up the ditches for the h2o to travel faster," White said.

"We really did extremity up taking a roadworthy conscionable to the northbound of municipality wholly retired successful 1 section, conscionable to let that h2o to travel into a field."

White said the municipality was capable to get immoderate instrumentality being utilized for a h2o reservoir expansion.

He said Aberdeen relies connected aboveground drainage and if 1 culvert backs up, the h2o hits a choke constituent and backs up done the full town, alternatively of flowing out.

"We worked fundamentally each done the nighttime to assistance mitigate the h2o damage."

White said the flooding has helped the municipality place immoderate anemic spots and it plans to marque improvements to the drainage system.

The authorities of exigency was lifted Monday.