Much of southern Manitoba is dealing with land floods and high water warnings. The province says the Red River continues to rise, and the situation was only exacerbated by a storm last weekend.
The pumps run around the clock in Saint Jean-Baptiste. Justin Heinrichs, who worked in the city, had to stop to see how high the water was, noting that he hadn’t seen it so high in a while.
“Not for a long time. In fact, we own a property in Emerson and it’s usually right next to the cab, “he said.
The floods closed more than a dozen rural roads in Moncalm’s RM, which stretches from the US border to Maurice. Although the reef calls the situation an “unpleasant flood” at the moment, there is probably more rain on the way.
Natalie Hassel, a meteorologist for alert preparedness for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said most models show most of the rainfall associated with the system falling south of Manitoba, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Environment Canada predicts another low in Colorado that will hit Manitoba early Friday morning.
This could be a problem, as one flood expert says 85 percent of the Red River’s water comes from the southern basins.
“There’s no dam at the border, so we take what we get,” said Jay Doring, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Manitoba. “It passes through Pembina and then arrives in Emerson, and depending on the size of these streams, we can determine whether the Red River will exceed its capacity on shore or not.”
With the upcoming storm potentially bringing in a few millimeters of rain, Döring said rivers are likely to overflow.
“Whether you take the script in small print for this situation, which would be like a flood in 2019 … the Red River will leave its banks anyway, as will the Asiniboin River in Brandon.”
This is a troubling thought for people like Heinrichs.
“I have many families who are concerned and all are supported,” he said. – Yes, I would say I’m worried.
The province said it was closely monitoring the floods, saying it was monitoring whether Highway 75 near the border should be closed.
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