As Manitoba experiences its third consecutive weekend of challenging weather, some households are being evacuated due to rising floods, exacerbated by torrential rains and wet land.
In the rural municipality of Richot, south of Winnipeg, 88 households have been asked to evacuate their homes outside the ring dike. So far, only 10 households have been evacuated, Mayor Chris Yuen said.
Their homes are on low-lying roads, and if the water gets too high, it could be difficult to leave or emergency services to reach them, he said.
“We want to make sure that when you receive this evacuation order, you really take into account … your quality of life and your family members and what it means to stay at home,” Ewan said in an interview Saturday.
Joel Lemoine is working with a number of other members of the community to help monitor the floods just north of Ste. Agatha. (Radio Canada)
But families do not know how long they could be away from home if they leave, nor does the mayor of RM.
“I wish I could predict the weather and see what happens in the next few days, but it can be anywhere from 12 hours of anxiety to a few weeks, depending on the severity of the situation,” Ewan said.
Just outside Ste. Agathe, located in Ritchot’s RM, crews slept in their vehicles at night, with each member taking turns monitoring pumps and other equipment to ensure everything went smoothly.
“In the next week or two, we will probably still be watching to make sure the Red River does not exceed its capacity,” and keep an eye on the community’s dike, said Joel Lemoine, who lives in the city.
Crews stand guard on the dike north of Ste. Agatha on Saturday. (Raja Abdelzadok / Radio Canada)
Southwest of Richot, the city of Morden declared a local state of emergency on Saturday as rising water levels forced dozens of people to flee their homes.
Further north, the Fisher River Cree nation, on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, was also in a state of emergency.
This was announced on Friday due to fears that rainfall this weekend will lead to a significant risk of flooding, the First Nation said in a social media post.
Chief David Crate says seven homes have been directly affected by the floods and one household has been evacuated as access to the road is rapidly deteriorating.
“The water has risen in the river about a meter since last night and the other problem we have, of course, is the rain now,” he said. “Now we’re getting floods on land.”
Crete says Indigenous Services Canada and the neighboring Peguis First Nation community have provided the Fisher River with inflatable Tiger dams, which we hope will help the flood-prone community.
Sandbag Winnipeggers
In Winnipeg, people continue to pile up sand to protect homes threatened by rising water.
Andrew Valgardson spent part of Saturday collecting sandbags from the city of Winnipeg in the Waverly Street garage to protect his mother-in-law’s home in Charleswood.
Her basement was flooded with water in the backyard, so he made two trips to fill his truck with sandbags.
Valgardsson, who is a truck driver, said the weather was also bad for the business.
“With snow, rain and everything else, the roads are closed, the highways are closed. The warehouses are closed. The staff can’t get to work. It was really bad,” he said.
Andrew Valgardsson took sandbags on Saturday to protect his mother-in-law’s house in Charleswood. (CBC)
Bob Hunt also picked up a few sacks of sand on Saturday. He said he had no floods so far, but did not take any risks.
“It simply came to our notice then. “If you don’t have bags, they will flood,” he said.
As it continued to rain on Saturday, he said he “never had time like this.”
“This winter is from hell and will not let go,” he said. “Maybe I should invest in a boat.”
Rain is expected to continue over the weekend and will eventually decrease on Sunday as the system moves from west to east.
For those who need sandbags, Winnipeg says it is available for free, 24 hours a day, in three locations in the city: 1220 Pacific Ave., 1090 Thomas Ave. and 1539 Waverley St.
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