Towns declare state of emergency as heavy rain continues

CTV WInnipeg: Heavy rain pounds Manitoba Ben Miljure reports several inches of rain in the past two days has caused flooding in southwestern Manitoba.

Heavy rains in southwestern Manitoba are causing flooding which as closed several highways and forced several communities to declare states of emergencies.

Environment Canada has had rainfall warnings in place for the region since Saturday. They expect another 30 to 50 millimetres to fall over the next 24 hours, and areas close to the Saskatchewan border could get as much as 150 millimetres.

RMs and towns declare state of emergency

The rural municipalities of Pipestone, Cornwallis, Grahamdale, and Wallace have all declared a state of emergency due to the excessive rainfall. The towns of Virden and Elkhorn have declared a state of emergency as well.

In Virden, community members have begun sandbagging.

WestJet cancelled its flights between Brandon and Calgary after flooding forced the Brandon airport to close the main road. The City of Brandon declared a precautionary state of emergency.

Sections of several highways are closed due to flooding, including highways 2, 252, 254, 256, and 270.

Manitoba Hydro responding to power outages

Manitoba Hydro crews have been responding to thousands of customers without power across the province. Outages have been all through Westman, the Interlake and Winnipeg.

In winnipeg, Hydro says the situation is very fluid. Hydro says most of the large scale outages however have been dealt with, but with the weather, more calls are coming in.

Hydro is asking everyone to stay away from downed power lines.

"I can't stress enough, we don't want homeowners out there with chainsaws, trying to clear trees away from energized powerlines. It's just not worth it," said Scott Powell with Manitoba Hydro.

Customers experiencing power outages can call 204-480-5900 in Winnipeg, or 1-888 624 9376.

Winnipeg water issues improving

Meanwhile, the City of Winnipeg says water is beginning to drain better around the city, but it did get 12 reports of raw sewage backing up into sewage lines.

The city received 67 reports of plugged storm drains, along with two reports of water in the basement due to overland flooding.

The city says it expects the numbers to change, so long as the bad weather continues.

Starting Saturday, the heavy rain began turning roadways into virtual rivers.

In East Kildonan early Saturday evening, water splashed well above the hoods of several cars.

The city says at least 17 catch basins flooded from the storm.

The Winnipeg Airport Authority issued a statement telling people to expect flight delays and cancellations due to the weather.