As floodwater crept over farmland in southern Manitoba following an intentional dike breach Saturday, many residents in the flood path were anxiously wondering what would become of their homes, businesses and livelihoods.
While the Manitoba government has pledged to compensate property owners in the so-called flooding "red zone," the promise isn't much comfort for many residents who face an unknown future.
In a controversial move, Manitoba's government decided to sacrifice about 150 homes in a 225-kilometre zone as a way to spare a larger number of properties downstream on the swollen Assiniboine River. The breach is occurring southeast of Portage la Prairie.
"We are going to be one of the 150 homes that will have overland flooding and potentially our houses could be destroyed," resident Cheryl Holmes told CTV News Channel.
But so far, Holmes said the province hasn't given her family much information about what will happen.
"It would have been really nice if an official could have come here and told us what we were in for, how much water they thought might be in our way, whether they thought our dikes were anywhere near appropriate for what is approaching."
Holmes said her family moved all their valuables to the highest level of their home and placed sandbags around the exterior of their property, which they purchased five years ago.
The water flow was expected to be slow over the weekend, with officials using the analogy of syrup creeping over a waffle as a comparative illustration.
Additionally, residents have prepared by diking their homes and clearing valuables. But there are still several unknowns as the unprecedented breach unfolds.
The province has promised that owners of damaged homes will be eligible for compensation programs beyond insurance claims and disaster assistance. Plus, Prime Minister Stephen Harper toured the flood scene earlier in the week and promised federal assistance to those affected.
Since the family aren't food producers and are designated as residents, the amount of compensation they could be eligible isn't clear, either.
"We just have to see what is left of our neighbourhood: where we live, our house, what the damage is … we'd have to take it from there. We don't know if the water is going to even breach our dike," she said.
"We just have to wait and see."
For farmers, the situation is equally complex.
Doug Connery, who operates Riverdale Farms, said that he spent Saturday morning surveying his land in the event of serious flood damage.
"I was taking pictures of ‘before,' so if I need to have proof of what's happened, then I've got proof for afterward," he said, noting that his land is about two kilometres down river from the breach.
Connery said that he should be planting vegetable and fruit crops at this point in the year, but all of that has been put on hold.
"It's a real catastrophe, in that we don't know what we should or shouldn't be doing," he said.
More troubling, however, is that the livelihood of the 200 employees on the farm has also been thrown into jeopardy, Connery said.
"I'm still really worried. Is the government going to come along with the right compensation package to look after people?"
