More rain expected as Southern Manitoba remains under water

More rain is headed towards Manitoba this weekend, but the province’s flood forecasters say the added precipitation isn’t expected to impact current flood conditions.

Much of Southern Manitoba and the Interlake region remain underwater after three Colorado lows whipped through the province last month. Dozens of rural communities remain under states of emergency, as overland flooding has forced road closures and evacuations.

The province says water levels are starting to peak, but it is expected that levels will remain high for a while as the ground remains saturated.

“As in many other flood years, however, we have to not that we are going through major flows in our rivers, which means flows will stay at the peaks. For example, the Red River will peak for five to seven days and will start to drop down around May 15,” explained Fisaha Unduche, Flood Forecaster.

The forecast on Saturday calls for around five to 10 millimetres of rain, which the province says won’t do anything to impede flooding. Unduche says things should get better from here on out.

“The good news is we don’t see, in the short or long-term forecast, we don’t see any major systems developing. Long-term projections indicate near-normal conditions up until June which will lead to a very pleasant summer.”

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Flooding continues in the Interlake and Red River Valley areas but is becoming more concentrated around drains and streams. The province, however, is keeping a close watch on the situation developing in Peguis First Nation, where over 1,400 residents have been forced to evacuate.

“My understanding from Federal and First Nation partners are that they will continue to evacuate most of Peguis, which will bring in a few hundred more, but our goal is to keep those numbers low overall. When we need to do it, but it has a disruption on people’s lives,” said Johanu Botha, Head of Manitoba’s emergency management organization.

The province believes the water levels around Peguis are near peak, and water in both the Fisher and Icelandic Rivers should stop overflowing their banks by May 13. Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk says the province has assisted in efforts to help out members in Peguis but says the province turned down a request to provide a helicopter to assist in evacuations.

“It costs like 10k an hour to get a helicopter in there. If it is vital, we will assess the situation going forward,” said Piwniuk.

With a number of areas still in flood watches or warnings, the province is reminding Manitobans to stay off waterways.