Regina hammered by heavy rain

Regina was reeling from heavy rain on Friday with flooded underpasses, traffic jams and flooded basementsacross the city.

From midnight to 1 p.m. CST,a city that's already experienced a wetter-than-normal June had received about 48 millimetres of rain (about 1.9 inches) and more was on the way. Later in the afternoon, winds had picked up and the rain was still coming down in buckets.

Cars were lined up for long stretches on the east side of the city as people tried to get through water-filled streets.

One woman tried to get through the underpass at Victoria Avenue and the Ring Road but got stuck in metre-deep water. She was saved when someone in a truck came to her aid.

Traffic lights were out at several major intersections. Emergency crews got calls about sparking electrical equipment on power poles.

The University of Regina, worried about sewers backing up, closed down for the afternoon.

In some parts of the city, there were giant puddles that made it hard to tell where the street ended and the grass began.

A duck was spotted on College Avenue swimming on what had a lawn earlier in the day. A few blocks away on Montreal Street, teens were seen swimming on the road.

The rain is supposed to taper off overnight, but there's still a 70 per cent change of more rain on Saturday, Environment Canada says.

Outdoor events were cancelled throughout the city, including "I Love Regina Day" which was scheduled for Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.

Meanwhile, states of emergency were declared in several rain-plagued communities in southern Saskatchewan, including Radville and Yellow Grass.