Less rain in southern Alberta forecast

People in flooded parts of southeastern Alberta are getting some slight relief with a downgraded rain forecast.

Rain was falling in Medicine Hat on Monday but the forecast for 70 millimetres of precipitation was lowered to 30 mm, allowing fire Chief Ronald Robinson to admit to being "somewhat relieved."

"At this time, the South Saskatchewan River is flowing lower than was anticipated, so we don't believe that the same impact will occur as was experienced this weekend," said Robinson.

Destructive flooding washed over the city and other parts of southeastern Alberta, which has been saturated with more than 150 mm of rain since Wednesday.

Residents of about 600 homes were still on alert and 230 households in low-lying areas were on voluntary evacuation notice. People in unsafe homes will need them to be cleared through an inspection before they can return, he said.

"If there's standing water, power, gas, utility shut offor sewer backup, a safety hazard exists and inspections will be required before it is determined safe for you to reoccupy your homes," said Robinson.

Rain to taper off

The rain is forecast to taper off on Tuesday, but Environment Canada has left warnings of "adverse weather conditions" in place for the Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Cypress Hills areas.

Alberta Agriculture Minister Jack Hayden was cautious about the forecast.

"The ground is saturated out there, the areas that will hold water are full of water, so the rain events that we get now, my concern is it's going to cause those tributaries to build up again," he said Monday.

The Trans-Canada Highway remained closed between Medicine Hat and Maple Creek, Sask., for a fourth day. Parts of the road are damaged by sinkholes and still covered by rushing water.

About 5,000 vehicles use that stretch of the highway daily, and drivers are being forced to take a 200-kilometre detour.

"It's a priority, but the problem [is] this is an unprecedented event in this area," said Hayden. "No one's ever seen it. We have no historic records of tributaries doing what they're doing right now, so until the event's over, it can be evaluated and the repairs done, we're in a waiting mode."

Drinking water concerns

Ranchers in the affected areas are dealing with equipment, animal feed, and fences being washed away by the torrential rain, as well as land that's now too soggy to seed.

Robin Batten, who ranches south of Irvine, Alta., said her animals were safely moved to higher ground, but she's not sure how she'll cover the loss of expensive equipment.

"We have talked to insurance companies and they will cover as much as they can, but then we're hoping that the government will kick in and do something for peoplethathave nothing to cover the rest of the damages," said Batten.

Meanwhile, the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, which helps co-ordinate emergency response, is working to bring in clean drinking water.

"There is just a tremendous load on all of the first-response agencies and whenever water like this enters the system it puts extraordinary pressure on equipment and infrastructure thatproduces clean drinking water," said the agency's Colin Lloyd.