A flood warning was issued for the Whitemud River near the northern Alberta hamlet of Dixonville on Thursday afternoon.
Alberta Environment and Parks said the warning was issued after it received “reports of of severe flooding” just north of the town of Peace River.
“The Highway 35 bridge might be constricting flow resulting in the increased water levels upstream,” the government said in an emergency alert. “Roads and farmland are currently being affected.”
John Krysztan runs a 10,000-acre farm in Dixonville and said his farmland is like a lake and he doesn’t believe he’ll be able to seed his crops now.
“(I) phoned the local MLA office and told them we’re going to be in a disaster area here,” he said Thursday evening.
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“I’ve been farming here for over 30 years and I’ve never seen the water levels at this pace here.”
Krysztan said the area experienced some rain after the weekend but the rate at which the river is rising is concerning.
“It’s overflowing everywhere,” he said. “All the creeks are backing up because the river is so high.”
Krysztan added he knows of at least one home that he believes will need to be evacuated and that a number of farmers are being impacted by the floodwater.
View a photo gallery of the flooding in the Dixonville area below:
The government is warning people in the area to be aware of rising water levels and to “take appropriate precautionary measures.”
For more information, people in the area are being asked to contact their local municipality.
On Sunday, the Town of Peace River warned residents that rain in the region had “resulted in higher than average stream and river flows for the tributaries of the Peace River.”
It said municipal crews were on standby and that town officials were in regular contact with Alberta Environment and Parks’ River Forecasting Centre.
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