The wrecked boats and missing docks are just some of the damage the Whiteshell residents are returning to after the floods forced many to evacuate the area.
Heather and Roy Howie have been battling flooding at their year-round home near Lake Dorothy for weeks.
“I don’t like to use the word traumatic, but that’s because it’s been going on for more than a month,” Heather said. “In early May, the water began to rise.”
The couple was forced to evacuate after floods cut off access to the region.
Since then, the water has begun to recede, and the province has temporarily built Highway 307, allowing Howie to return home.
The water damaged their backyard, gazebo and boat. They also have to remove hundreds of sandbags.
“Cleaning will be very slow. It will be a lot of hard physical work and I think we will do it day by day and we can only plan while we go,” Heather said.
In a statement to CTV News Winnipeg, the province said it was also starting a cleanup.
“Great efforts are being made to deploy inspectors, claim managers and the full DFA team to ensure that the eligibility of the damage is confirmed as soon as possible so that construction can begin, the damage is not related to construction can be assessed and then the funds can quickly [be distributed]”Reads part of the statement sent by e-mail.
The province said 80 municipal lawsuits and more than 500 private lawsuits for financial aid in disasters for 2022 – totaling tens of millions of dollars – have been filed.
The Whiteshell Cottages Association said many of the cottages remain out of pocket to pay for the damage, as most insurance does not cover floods and the houses remain outside the relief funds.
“This is a real tragedy for people, and this is something that the Weitschel Cottages Association would like us to turn to again, because these phenomena that we see are happening more,” said Ian Barager, president of the association.
The association said almost all the huts on the shores of the lakes had suffered some damage, noting that cleaning updates would be posted on its Facebook page.
As for permanent residents like Howie, they said they would like to see a better emergency plan in place when such an event happens again.
“Since we are not a municipality, there is no contingency plan, which I find really surprising, as this is a river system that is managed by several waterfalls,” Heather said.
She said a new contingency plan would put boots on the ground faster, helping people like her in flood situations.
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