Localized flooding reported in Bienfait, Sask.

Residents in southeast Saskatchewan are dealing with the aftermath of a heavy downpour Tuesday night.

Residents in southeast Saskatchewan are dealing with the aftermath of a heavy downpour Tuesday night. In a message to social media on Wednesday, the Town of Bienfait informed residents it was applying for disaster relief through the province, encouraging residents to forward pictures or videos of flooding. Residents in the community, located around 210 kilometres southeast of Regina, reported witnessing as much as five inches of water in their rain gauges.

Photos provided to CTV News showed entire backyards transformed into ponds by the sudden deluge. The town requested residents avoid using unnecessary amounts of water until the community’s drainage system is allowed to catch up. Saskatchewan’s southeast was subject to several severe thunderstorm alerts Tuesday evening.

According to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), four communities are under declarations of local emergency as of 10 a.m. Wednesday. They include Keeseekoose and Yellow Quill First Nations in addition to the Rural Municipalities (RMs) of Meadow Lake and Wolverine. SPSA flooding resources in the form of pumps, hoses, sandbags and other equipment have been deployed to nine locations across the province, including the RMs of Wolverine and Cote, Norquay, Sheho, Burgis Beach, Duck Mountain Provincial Park and three locations surrounding Fishing Lake.