States of emergency declared in 18 Manitoba communities as flooding continues

Arborg deals with flooding Residents of Arborg, Man. work to protect homes from flooding on May 2, 2022.

States of local emergencies have been declared in more than a dozen communities in southern and central Manitoba as flooding continues.

In an update Monday afternoon, the province said it remains "at a high state of readiness" for water levels similar to the 2009 flood on the Red River between Emerson and the Red River Floodway inlet. The province said water levels are expected to remain high in many areas in southern and central Manitoba.

In the RM of Gimli, the main road through the subdivision of Silver Harbour was excavated to allow water to flow freely. This work was done after fast flowing river eroded and crumbled the road.

On Sunday, the RM declared a state of local emergency to deal with flooding issues.

The RM said by declaring the state of local emergency it can spend funds that have not been budgeted, and get equipment and contractors into the community to help with any infrastructure that is in jeopardy.

Silver Harbour is the northernmost subdivision in the RM of Gimli.

RISING WATERS

Several properties in the Interlake area, including an assisted care facility outside of Arborg, are also dealing with the rising water.

Crews are sandbagging and creating dams, as some roads in the area are completely under water.

The high waters have prompted the RM of St. Laurent to declare a local state of emergency Monday morning, joining more than a dozen communities in the province that have declared local states of emergency due to flooding.

"East of Highway 6 in our municipality, that is where the major flooding is happening," said Cheryl Smith, reeve for the rural municipality. "We have up to eight, maybe 10 roads that are closed with the overland flooding, they've been washed out."

She said the RM is currently doing a community assessment using drones and public work staff. Smith said at this point there are no plans to evacuate any homes, though she said residents in St. Laurent should call the municipality office if they are being overwhelmed or need help with pumping.

The province said in total as if Monday evening, 18 communities are under local states of emergency, including:

The province said the Manitoba Emergency Organizations is also working with Indigenous Services Canada to support its response measures with First Nation communities.

Further south, in the RM of Montcalm, evacuation orders have been ordered for 27 homes, affecting 69 people who are now staying in Steinbach, Winkler and Winnipeg. More evacuations are expected in the coming days as well, according to a flood update from the RM.

The province said crews have been deployed to a number of communities in southern Manitoba to run pumping operations and dike closures.

FLOOD WARNINGS EXPANDED IN MANITOBA

The province said an overland flood warning for parts of the Interlake as well as southern and central Manitoba has been expanded to include all of eastern Manitoba.