Communities on the western shores of Lake Winnipeg are struggling to protect their homes and livelihoods after a rainy and windy weekend caused at least two merchant boats to sink and some people to flee their homes.
Debris and water have been littered in a port near Hekla, said Doug Johnson, president of the Port Harbor Authority.
A fisherman sank two merchant boats, he said. The fisherman waits for the water to calm down to get them out.
“There’s probably more than a meter of water on the dock, if not more. Last night we had white caps that broke on top of the dock,” Johnson said.
“There are currently 20 commercial fishing boats parked. They stay and stay overnight, we’re lucky they didn’t break or something.”
The port of Gull is visible underwater early Sunday morning after a weekend of torrential rain and strong winds. The president of the port authorities says that two commercial fishing boats have sunk. (Submitted by Doug Johnson)
Further south in Gimli, Port Captain Trevor Cowie said the main dock remains healthy, but Fishermans Harbor is under water.
“I’ve been fighting here for 22 years and I’ve never seen it so high. And people have told me they haven’t seen it so high since 1967,” he said.
Just outside Gimli on Willow Island, longtime resident Judith Arnason says the wind caused big waves to form on the island, which is connected to the mainland by a pavement that is now closed.
“When I saw the water rising, I told my daughter, ‘We have to get out of here,'” she said.
Debris and water close on a man’s deck on Willow Island, just outside Gimli, man. (Submitted by Vincent Arnason)
Arnason is disappointed with the guidelines given to her by the provincial emergency organization and the lack of notice.
“I asked them if we should go, and he said, ‘Well, you make your own decision. Make your own decision? I’m an old lady! What the hell? … Do I have to decide to sit down and drown? “
CBC News asked the province for comment, but a spokesman did not respond immediately.
Arnason worries about vulnerable people living on the island, which she has called home for 25 years.
“There are a lot of people who are single ladies whose husbands have died. I don’t know how they are. No one comes to see if you’re okay.”
Parts of Gimli are under water on Sunday after a weekend with torrential rains and strong winds. Lake Winnipeg is so full that it is difficult to pump water back into it. (Submitted by Pat Morrow)
Lynn Greenberg, mayor of Gimli’s RM, says the wind is making everything more challenging, especially since Lake Winnipeg is now 218.5 meters (717 feet) above sea level, which is two feet above the top of the recommended operating range.
“If there is a wind, a northeast wind, it just blows the water into people’s property and the sewer doesn’t work because the lake itself is so high,” he said.
Greenberg says public construction workers have been out since 5 a.m. trying to protect homes and businesses.
“We have a tractor pump working now to pump the water back into the lake. We will make a dam out of big sandbags there and we will pump the water back,” he said.
Greenberg says it was the worst term he has served on the council.
“With COVID and all these weather problems with the excess snow and the bad spring we had. I don’t really think we had a spring. We’ve been through the winter until now, to be honest,” he said.
“We are lucky to have a good public works team and the response to emergency measures is helping and we must do the best we can to alleviate the problems.
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