WINNIPEG – Six Manitoba rural municipalities have declared states of emergency after a weekend of wicked weather.
The RMs of Pipestone, Cornwallis, Wallace, Grahamdale, Whitehead and Siglunes made the declaration Sunday, as did the City of Brandon.
Overland flooding blocked the road into Brandon’s airport, forcing all flights in and out of the city to be cancelled. Brandon had 117 millimetres of rain from Friday to Sunday evening.
A state of emergency gives the municipalities more power to deal with the rain’s aftermath.
“We can go onto private property, go and do what needs to be done to mitigate the situation,” explained Brandon emergency co-ordinator Brian Kayes. “So if there’s a city tree that falls on private property, we can go on private property and cut that tree down, take care of the safety hazard.”
The state of emergency in Brandon will be in effect until July 28.
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