Flood effects linger south of Havre

Hill County, especially areas south of Havre, are still feeling the effects of the rains earlier this week.

Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Joe Parenteau said this morning that water had gone over the emergency spillway Monday at Beaver Creek Dam about eight miles south of Havre but had dropped back down by this morning.

He said the level of the reservoir has dropped, which is a good sign, but the levels in Beaver Creek below the dam and Big Sandy Creek are likely to stay about where they are for four to five days.

He said he knows of one family that has evacuated its home due to flooding, but he expects that others may have had to do so as well.

Parenteau said he would meet with the Hill County commissioners today to go over the data available to consider whether the county should declare a disaster.

On Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, shelters are being set up in case people need to leave their homes.

But reservation officials are saying the biggest problem may be getting safe water for people to drink.

Tribal officials declared a disaster, which they said was the first step toward getting federal aid.

Six roads on the reservation have been closed, while 18 homes have flooded basements and 38 more sustained roof damage, said Tony Woods, tribal council spokesman.

Some families have been displaced by the flooding or cut off from their homes, while four or five families were stranded in their homes with no way to get out. People on all-terrain vehicles were bringing them water and supplies, Woods said.

More than a foot of rain has fallen on the Bear Paw Mountains in the last week, he said.

(Tim Leeds, John Kelleher and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)