Officials in Kenora, Ont., Have issued a statement evacuating residents in flooded areas as high waters continue to threaten homes and infrastructure.
“As water levels continue to rise, there is no way to predict exactly how quickly roads can become dangerous and impassable,” a city statement said Friday.
Kenora is one of several communities in northwestern Ontario that is seeing high water amid severe spring floods across Canada. Floods have also been reported in the northwestern Territories of Alberta and Manitoba.
Forest Lake and Winnipeg systems are higher than in 95 percent of the years when water levels were monitored, according to the city.
Kenora Mayor Dan Reinard told CBC News on Friday that the evacuation zone included about 250 homes, some of which are seasonal homes.
“The area we’re talking about is the Black Sturgeon Lake area,” Reynard said. “The lake flows into the Winnipeg River.”
Heavy rains and melting snow mean “twice as much water enters as it can push through dams into the Winnipeg River system,” Reynard said. “Because the river is obviously much narrower, this leads to a rapid rise in river levels.”
Water levels in the Winnipeg River are currently higher than on Black Sturgeon Lake, Reynard said.
“Instead of the black sturgeon draining away, the water from the river is actually being pushed back into the black sturgeon,” he said. “So there’s nowhere for this water to be released, which makes it rise fast.”
The roads in the evacuation area are not safe for traffic and are not accessible to first aid in case of an accident due to the amount of water flowing over them.
“That’s why it’s imperative that people move out of the area,” Reynard said. “We ask them to do it for their own safety.”
He said that the water levels in the forest lake are regulated by the control lake of the forest lake, which is in “catch-22”.
“If they don’t dump water, then the lake levels become too high and will cause problems at this end of the lake,” Reynard said. “If they dump water, it causes problems under the dams in the Winnipeg River system.”
“So it’s a pity,” he said. “We had big storms, one on Wednesday night, one on Thursday night. And a lot of water was thrown away.
“It is thrown all the way to Fort Francis, which is 135 miles away [217 km] far away. Everything is going in that direction. We did everything we could to protect what we are at this stage. “
The town of Kenora said crews were working to clear a safe route from the evacuation area and anyone still there would have to be evacuated by 6.30pm on Friday.
After that, the roads will be closed and entry and exit will not be allowed, the city said.
An emergency shelter has been built in the Kenora Recreation Center for those in need of accommodation, the city announced.
Meanwhile, Reinard said, the city will monitor floods in other areas.
In northwestern Ontario, highways remain closed due to leaching.
Click on the interactive map below for the latest information:
Several other communities in northwestern Ontario remain under flood warning and surveillance.
Conservationists again issued a flood warning for Thunder Bay, Neebin, Oliver Paipoonge, Shuniah, O’Conner, Conmee, Gillies and Dorion earlier Friday.
The Thunder Bay area is forecast to have little or no rainfall for nearly a week, giving the area time to dry.
WATCH See the effects of the floods and high waters in Thunder Bay:
Footage from drones captures Thunder Bay floods as rivers, streams seem to reach a peak
Jason Craigia pulled out his drone to take some stunning footage of floods occurring in Thunder Bay, Ont., As water levels rise during a spring flood.
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