There isn’t much left of Marion Classen’s summer getaway at the south end of Twin Lakes Beach. On Monday, she and her family finally had a chance to tour what’s left of their property, which was destroyed by winds and waves from Lake Manitoba almost two weeks ago.
“We’re looking at our family cottage,” Classen said. “This was our dining room facing the water.”
“You just don’t know where to start, you could walk around here for hours wondering what you should be doing; it’s really devastating.”
Now, she and her husband Carl are wondering whether it’s worth trying to salvage what’s left of their property.
“I’d imagine moving the cottage back or reinforcing it, but I think it’s hopeless,” Carl said.
The Classen’s cottage is just of 41 properties that was demolished in the Twin Lakes Beach area, and many more were also badly damaged. On Monday, hundreds of owners were finally allowed to return to the area to assess the situation for themselves. Just south of Twin Lakes, the area is so damaged that none of the property owners have been allowed back yet. But officials took media on a tour of the area.
“There are some buildings that need to come down immediately because at the end of the day, nobody could go in to do any salvage work anyway,” said Reeve Earl Zotter.
Officials with the RM of St. Laurent are now waiting for structural engineers to approve plans for demolition. In the meantime, people are anxiously hoping that another storm that is headed their way isn’t too severe.
“All we need is that wind to whip up and come back and we’re going to be in the same situation as last time or worse,” Zotter said.
Now, many residents and local officials are placing blame on the Province for keeping the levels on Lake Manitoba high all winter.
“It’s a disaster that was perhaps preventable, but at the end of the day, it’s happened and now all we can do is help them any way we can,” Zotter added.
Comments