'The devastation is obvious,' Fentie says of Yukon flooding

Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie says unprecedented flooding in the Southern Lakes area is a "catastrophe," after seeing the damage for himself on Thursday.

Fentie, who had been busy with other commitments as water levels rose steadily over the last three weeks around Marsh Lake, Tagish and Carcross, visited the flooded areas with emergency measures officials during the day Thursday.

"I've got to look at it from two perspectives: in the air and on the ground. You know, the devastation is obvious," Fentie told reporters that afternoon.

While he did not commit to potential compensation for homeowners affected by flooding, he did acknowledge that the situation will likely warrant it down the road. But any talk of disaster relief will have to come once water levels have receded, he added.

"We don't need some kind of definition to call this a catastrophe. It is one!" he said. "We are dealing with the highest levels of runoff in recorded history."

Some of Fentie's cabinet ministers have pitched in to help area homeowners, volunteers and emergency measures officials scramble to keep floodwaters away from properties in recent weeks.

Water levels in the Southern Lakes, which include Marsh Lake and Bennett Lake, levelled off temporarily on Thursday. Marsh Lake was at 657.211 metres above sea level, which was only one millimetre higher than it was on Wednesday. Still, levels on that lake are well above the historic record level of 656.994 metres set in 1981.

Despite the break, forecasters still predict the lake levelswill peak next week, then linger for several weeks before returning to anywhere near normal levels.