Manitoba's emergency measures minister warned residents against returning to their homes too quickly despite the fact that the Red River appears to have crested in Winnipeg.
Minister Steve Ashton said Saturday that although the river is receding in the city, water levels could still rise due to significant water flow from tributary waterways.
Ashton told CTV Newsnet that officials will need to work with each municipality to determine if conditions are safe before residents can re-inhabit their homes.
"We are quire concerned when people obviously try and get back into their homes a bit early," Ashton said. "But we have to be concerned about safety, whether it be safe road access, but also with utilities, whether it be gas or hydro."
Flooding along the Red River has forced about 2,000 people from their homes, a far cry from the 107,000 people that had to be evacuated during the flood of 1950.
Ashton said the figures show that the province has come a long way in emergency preparedness, given that this flood is worse than 60 years ago.
According to Ashton, when the Red River peaked in Winnipeg, water levels were about 3.6 metres below what they would have been without flood protection mechanisms.
Volunteers and workers have used more than 600,000 sandbags to build makeshift dikes around town.
Ashton also defended forecasters, who have changed their predictions a number of times since the flood watch began late last month.
Ashton pointed out that the river crested in the border town of Emerson at more than 11 metres above its normal level.
And ice jams, combined with melting snow and heavy rains, have made forecasters' jobs particularly difficult.
"I would say generally speaking our forecasts have been as good as you can get under unprecedented circumstances," Ashton said.
