The waters have been receding in Weyburn for a couple weeks now, but the recovery from all the damages caused by the flooding will take some time for individuals and businesses and organizations to deal with.
It's hard to believe that one day of rain caused more flooding than an above-normal spring runoff did, but the rain water had nowhere to go due to the saturated ground, and thus flooded the city and the southeast area.
Equally, it's difficult to believe that so many people had issues arising from the flood in the form of water or sewage backing up into the basement. Those places that had sewage to deal with have the most serious problem to deal with, as in some cases it makes the buildings unusable until the contamination is gone, and all materials contaminated by it are removed.
The next pressure point, then, is the demand for professionals to be available to help businesses or home owners deal with the cleanup, not to mention contractors in the cases where rebuilding or renovations will be required.
Residents ought to take care at this point to get qualified professionals, and to not just take in the first contractor who happens to have time to come deal with them.
Just as fraudsters hit the city asking for donations for flood victims (when no legitimate organization was doing so), in a time like this fly-by-night contractors from out-of-town can flood the area and take people who are eager to get their problem looked after.
Be careful and ask for references, and if possible, check with the Better Business Bureau; by being patient and taking the time to properly check out someone you don't know, you could avoid a world of grief and trouble.
Meantime, there are people available here who are willing to help or to recommend someone who can be of assistance. In addition, there are programs like PDAP (Provincial Disaster Assistance Program) and the Red Cross who can also help, and when that stress starts building up, contact a mental health professional at Sun Country Health Region.
Sometimes being able to find someone to talk to can be of great assistance and can help prevent a melt-down of nerves as you feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the problem.
As Mayor Debra Button said, we came through this together, and we will make it through together.
