‘Waiting game’: Manitoba First Nation begins evacuation of residents with medical needs

Sandbags surround Angela Flett's home in Peguis First Nation, Man. (Alex Karpa/CTV News).

PEGUIS FIRST NATION, MAN. – Residents with medical needs are being evacuated out of Peguis First Nation, as the community is preparing for an imminent flood.

Located about 160 kilometres north of Winnipeg, Peguis has begun relocating residents with certain medical conditions or those requiring ongoing care.

Denise Bear, who is the charge nurse at the local health centre, says 32 people have been identified as “Priority 1” and have been given the option to evacuate.

So far, she says six have chosen to leave.

“The rest of them are going to be staying back in the community,” she said. “There are 26 of the Priority 1’s that are currently waiting until it’s necessary to leave. We gave them that option if they wanted to wait.”

Bear says, the six evacuees have been set up by the Red Cross in hotels in Selkirk, Man., about 140 km southeast of the community.

She says, she is uncertain as to when the other Priority 1’s will be taken out.

“Currently, it’s just a day-by-day waiting game. We’re waiting to see where the waters rise,” she said.

At this time, there are no plans for a wider evacuation, but leaders are preparing for that possibility.

Bear says contingency plans are in place should the entire community, which is home to more than 5,000 people, need to be evacuated, with residents potentially relocating to larger centres like Selkirk, Winnipeg, and Brandon.

According to the province, over half a million sandbags, and over 11,000 super sandbags have been sent to the community and placed around the 225 homes in need of protection.

Residents determined to stay put

A wall of sandbags surrounds Angela Flett’s home. She says she is holding out hope she doesn’t have to evacuate.

“I’m probably not going to evacuate,” she told CTV News Tuesday. “I’m going to stay and watch my house, because as I said, who else is going to do it.”

Her home was heavily impacted by a flood in 2022, which forced over 2,000 Peguis residents to evacuate. Many of those evacuees have still yet to return home.

Flett says she doesn’t want to be put in that situation.

“I will not evacuate,” she said. “My later mother did not evacuate. My late aunt did not evacuate in 2022. They stayed. They had no running water but it didn’t bother them.”

That determination is shared by resident Fred Sinclair, whose home is now surrounded by a mud dike.

“I wouldn’t go anyway, not with the experience I had last time,” he said. “My niece helped me out, we shopped and I bought enough groceries and everything I need.”

Sinclair was displaced during the 2022 flood and spent more than three months away from home.

Now, he is recovering from surgery on one leg and awaiting another surgery for his other leg. He says he feels more comfortable staying put.

He’s also frustrated by the recurring flood threat and the lack of long-term solutions.

“For all the millions of dollars they spend, cleaning up after and everything after, why don’t they have a permanent solution to fix this, so we don’t have to go through this again?” he said.

Flood risk remains high

The province’s spring flood outlook forecasts the Interlake Region, which Peguis is part of, is at risk of flooding due to a large accumulation of snow, a delayed melt, and an increased likelihood of rapid spring runoff.

In 2014, more than 100 people were displaced due to high water levels in the community. In 2022, over 2,000 people were forced out of their homes.

The First Nation has been advised that if conditions remain unfavourable, it could see water levels similar to the 2022 flood, considered one of the worst floods in the community.

Other communities at risk of flooding

The Rural Municipality of Fisher, also in Manitoba’s Interlake Region, is preparing for flooding, with 30 homes and businesses in the area considered to be at risk.

In its flood report issued last week, the Rural Municipality of Fisher said it’s already seeing some localized flooding as the province’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre predicts a major flooding risk in the Fisher River Basin.

The community has made over 3,000 sandbags in preparation of a flood.