Municipalities in Manitoba, which are already dealing with major floods, are preparing for the worst – another possible downpour this weekend.
Things are especially bad in southern Manitoba, where many communities are piling up sand and building dikes.
Highway 75 in Maurice will be closed on Friday to protect the city from the rising Red River.
Crews piled up mud on the highway on Wednesday to prepare for the closure of the roundabout around the community.
Mayor Scott Creek says water is flooding the underside of the Maurice Bridge, and the weather has been so unpredictable lately that it’s impossible to say how long it could be closed, especially in light of the rain this weekend that could or will not bypass Manitoba. , or cause between 15 and 25 mm of rain, says CBC meteorologist John Sauder.
“The best-case scenario is that the dam is closed, the water comes in a few days and quickly recedes. The worst-case scenario is that we could be closed in two to four weeks, as we were in 2011,” Crick said.
Crews piled up mud on Highway 75 near Morris on Tuesday in preparation for the closure of the ring dike around the community on Friday. (Alana Cole / CBC)
Chris Prop, the province’s director of water infrastructure, says the crews are on site around the clock.
“They are closely monitoring river levels and are now taking some action to keep the highway open for as long as possible,” Prop told CBC Manitoba’s Noon radio on Wednesday.
Pumping is in progress
Elsewhere, pumping operations are being carried out in most ring dikes, including Emerson, Maurice, St. Adolf, St. Agate, Rosenort, Brankild, Riverside, Letelier and Dominion City, he said.
The floodplain of the Red River continues to function, as does the Shellmouth Dam and the Portage diversion.
Jay Doring, a flood expert and professor of civil engineering at the University of Manitoba, says the province will have to prepare for what-if scenarios in the event of more rain this weekend.
“We have some kind of guide on what to do based on the flows we expect to see in the Red or Asiniboin rivers, so I think we’re sticking to the plan,” he said. “But it’s important to look at the scenarios of what will happen: what will happen if we get 20 millimeters of rain?” What if we get 40, 60 or, God forbid, one of the models shows 80 millimeters of rain between now and next Wednesday.
Drone videos taken Tuesday morning by Winkler, Man. A damaged gutter near Winkler caused flooding on Monday night. With the help of the fire department and community members, the water was diverted over the dike to a nearby field. (Submitted by Joey Siemens)
“It’s important to know the impact of these what-if scenarios so we can start making appropriate plans now.”
People who survived the 1997 floods may be concerned about the ability to prevent damage, but Prop says the province has learned a lot since then:
- The flooded road has been widened and there are better standards for infrastructure in the Red River Valley.
- Older buildings are protected up to a flood level of 1 per 100 years – roughly equivalent to the 1997 flood – and newer developments and ring dikes must meet the standard for a flood level of one every 200 years.
- Upgrades are planned for older developments and dikes.
“In terms of infrastructure, we are certainly in better shape than we were in 1997,” said Prop.
In another development, the Red River reached a ridge Wednesday in Grand Forks, North Carolina, the National Weather Service said.
That’s about 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) below the ridge of the 1997 flood and about 1.2 meters (four feet) below the ridge of 2011.
The river is expected to reach the ridge in Pembina, North America – just outside Emerson, Man. – on 4 May at 1.7 meters (5.6 feet) below the 1997 level and 0.8 meters (2.6 feet) below the 2011 level.
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