The southern Manitoba municipality of Montcalm has issued evacuation orders and closed roads as floodwaters continue to rise in the region.
The RM said 17 households have been issued evacuation orders — affecting 42 people — as of Friday afternoon.
They say the affected homes are all on the east side of the Red River on St. Mary’s Road, which was breached by floodwaters overnight Thursday.
Reeve Paul Gilmore says while most properties in the municipality are protected by ring dikes, the evacuations are needed to make sure people aren’t left trapped on the wrong side of those protections as water rises.
“The problem is overland flooding and road closures, which isolates residents,” he told 680 CJOB.
“We want our residents to be safe and secure and if they’re left without exits, it makes for a problem.”
Despite the warning, not all of those who received an evacuation order are planning on leaving.
Marc Sawadsky says while water was closing in “slowly but surely” around his home Friday, he’s decided to stay put, for now.
“It’s something that happens quite often, it’s part of living in the floodplain,” he said, explaining he has animals to take care of and wants to be home in case a power outage cuts out his sump pump.
“We’re feeling safe, it’s just you’re cut off.”
Sawadsky said he has enough food stocked up to last for a couple weeks, and his partner, who is a nurse working in Winnipeg, is staying with nearby relatives so she can get to and from work during the flooding.
And if worst comes to worse Sawadsky says he has a boat he can use to get around as flood waters rise.
“It’s one of those ‘when life gives you lemons’ scenarios,” he smiled.
“There’s nothing I can change about the water – it’s coming – may as well make the best of it.”
Earlier in the day Friday the province issued flood warnings for much of the southern Manitoba river basin as officials warn storms could bring as much as 80 millimetres of precipitation to the area between Friday and Sunday morning.
“Rainfall amounts of up to 80mm will have a very large impact on the flooding situation,” the RM of Montcalm said in a release.
The municipality declared a month-long local state of emergency Thursday.
States of emergency have also been declared in the municipalities of Cartier and Headingley west of Winnipeg, the RMs of Morris and Ritchot south of the city, and the RM of Fisher in the Interlake.
Local officials say roughly 25 sections of roadway are closed in Montcalm as of Friday afternoon. A list of impacted roads can be found on the RM’s website.
Montcalm is 81 kilometres south of Winnipeg and includes the communities of Letellier, Saint Joseph and Saint Jean Baptiste. Highway 75 runs through much of the municipality.
A stretch of Highway 75 closed Friday evening with motorists being forced to take a small detour.
Provincial flood forecasters say this weekend’s expected rainfall could see flood conditions similar to what Manitoba saw in 2009, when the Red River reached roughly 87,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) at Emerson and 91,000 CFS in Ste. Agathe.
Currently, predictions say the Red River could hit between 78,000 and 98,000 CFS in Emerson and 90,000 to 115,00 CFS at Ste. Agathe this spring, with peak flows expected to last as long as a week starting over the Mother’s Day weekend.
Officials in the RM of Montcalm say a self-serve sandbag station is available at the RM shop located on the south side of St. Jean Baptiste.
Residents in Montclare asked to make sure sump pumps are draining to the street or natural draining systems and not into the sewer to prevent sewer backups.
–With files from Abigail Turner
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