A Manitoba rural municipality along the U.S. border has declared a month-long local state of emergency as the already water-logged area braces for the possibility of even more precipitation this weekend.
Officials in the RM of Montcalm declared the state of emergency at 7:45 a.m. Thursday and say the order will remain in effect until May 28.
“This was done because of flooding throughout many areas of the municipality and there may be evacuations along St. Mary’s Road,” reads a release from the municipality.
The RM says as many as 16 homes may need to be evacuated due to flooding.
Homeowners potentially impacted by the evacuations have been notified, and the municipality says arrangements are being made for accommodations, should they be needed.
The RM of Montcalm, roughly 81 kilometres south of Winnipeg, is in the Red River Valley, and includes the communities of Letellier, Saint Joseph and Saint Jean Baptiste.
Highway 75 runs through much of the municipality.
On Wednesday the reeve of the RM of Morris, just north of Montcalm, told Global News the community is preparing for Highway 75 to be closed as early as Friday.
A provincial flood report issued Wednesday said crews are monitoring river levels in Morris and will work to keep Highway 75 open as long as possible on the north side of the community.
The Red River Valley received up to 70 millimetres of rain last weekend as a Colorado low parked over the province for 48 hours.
Now, forecasters expect a similar, but smaller, system to bring anywhere from 15 to 30 millimetres more water to the same region this weekend.
Just over the U.S. border, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum declared a state-wide flooding emergency earlier this week.
The state is expecting to get more rain than Manitoba with this incoming storm — up to 40 millimetres in some areas and the Red River has already has gone beyond the banks in communities like Grand Forks.
The RM of Montcalm says the amount of rain the region ends up getting this weekend “will have a big impact on the situation.”
For now it says pumping operations are ongoing in parts of the municipality, including St. Jean Baptiste.
Meanwhile, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure has closed the ring dike in St. Jean at the old bridge, on the east side of town.
The municipality says crews are closely watching water levels and will provide updates on road closures and the overall flooding situation.
They say a sandbag filling station is available at the RM shop located on the south side of St. Jean Baptiste.
Officials are warning drivers not to travel through water that is over roads because the roads may be washed out under the water.
A full list of road closures can be found on the RM’s website.
— with files from Skylar Peters