Just two months ago, Chao Shen bought his dream home in St. Adolf, Man., And began working, making it a home where he and his wife could start a family.
Now it’s more of a nightmare, with the basement of his new home underwater.
“I feel sad, very sad, because I just bought this March 8th and spent $ 40,000 on repairs, and now everything is flooded,” he said.
Shen returned to his community home south of Winnipeg on Friday after being evacuated from the area due to land floods.
He went home and found his entire basement full of water, almost to the main floor.
Flood water is pouring from Shen’s basement and up to its main floor. (Submitted by Chao Shen)
Since the Flood of the Century in 1997, all communities in the Red River Valley have been protected by ring dikes.
Shen’s house is located right in front of the dike of St. Adolf.
He said he had heard of the great flood in Manitoba in 1997, but said his home would be safe from flooding. Now he is worried that he will have to move his house to a higher place.
He is still unsure whether the insurance will cover the damage.
Shen has spent much of the last two days trying to pump water, but he can’t handle it.
“I just want the rain to stop,” he said.
Hoses lead from Shen’s house. His entire basement is flooded. (Submitted by Chao Shen)
Chris Ewan, mayor of Richot County, which includes St. Adolf, says it is a challenge for people in the Red River Valley.
Although it avoided the worst of the latest weather system passing through the province, the region saw light rain on Friday and Saturday.
Gusts are also continuing in southern Manitoba, which Environment Canada warned on Friday could raise water levels in flood-affected areas.
“We see a lot of closed roads at the moment, especially with the strong winds that we had last night. “A lot of debris on the roads, just dangerous driving everywhere, even in our main arteries, our main inter-community highways,” Ewan said in an interview with CBC News Network on Saturday.
So far, 230 households in RM of Ritchot have received evacuation notices, and about half of the 850 residents affected have left their homes.
“It’s very devastating. And it’s not just devastating physically, it’s emotionally and mentally exhausting,” Ewan said.
“People who work behind the scenes work around the clock to ensure that sandbags come out to ensure that homes are protected. So, you know, I can’t imagine what most of them go through. “
The floods have washed away roads in many parts of the province, including here in the rural municipality of Richot, as pictured on May 10. (Trevor Brine / CBC)
Richot’s RM is one of 30 municipalities without the first nations to declare a local state of emergency, a provincial spokesman said on Saturday. That’s four more than May 9th.
To date, members of the Richot community have filled 150,000 sacks with sand and worked around the clock to stop the flow of water.
Ewan acknowledges the help of the provincial government, but says much more needs to be done to protect communities like his.
“We need more road infrastructure improvements. We need to raise these paths. “We need to increase the height of the berms and ring dikes around our communities – not just Richot, it’s everywhere in Manitoba,” Ewan said.
“The province needs to do more in the future.”
A provincial government spokesman said he had previously announced a “substantial highway improvement program” and that the effects of the floods would be taken into account when moving forward with repair projects.
30 municipalities are in a state of emergency
The 30 municipalities in a state of emergency from Saturday, according to the province, are:
- City of Arborg.
- RM of Armstrong.
- Bifrost-Riverton Municipality.
- Cartier RM.
- Clanwilliam-Erickson Municipality.
- RM by Coldwell.
- RM by Dufferin.
- Emerson-Franklin Municipality.
- Ethelbert’s RM.
- Fisher’s RM.
- RM from Grahamdale.
- Gray’s RM.
- RM by Gimli.
- RM by Heddingley.
- McCreery’s RM.
- RM by MacDonald.
- RM from Moncalm.
- The city of Morden.
- Maurice’s RM.
- Municipality of Norfolk Trehern.
- Reynolds Municipality.
- RM from Rhineland.
- RM at Ritchot.
- Municipality of Pembina.
- RM from St. Laurent.
- Thompson’s RM.
- RM from West Interlake.
- RM from Whitemouth.
- Winnipeg Beach.
- RM from Woodlands.
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