In the rural town of Ritchot, just south of Winnipeg, 88 households were asked to evacuate their homes, which are located outside an annular embankment. So far, only 10 households have been evacuated, said Mayor Chris Ewen.
Their homes are on low roads and if the water reaches too high, it may be difficult for emergency services to leave or reach, he said.
“We want to make sure that when you receive this evacuation order, you really take into account ποιότητα your quality of life and that of your family members and what it means to stay home,” Ewen said in an interview Saturday.
Joel Lemoine worked with many other members of the community to help monitor flooding north of Ste. Good. (Radio-Canada)
But the families do not know how long they could stay away from their homes if they left, nor the mayor of RM.
“I wish I could predict the weather and see what happens in the next few days, but it could be anywhere from a 12-hour concern to a few weeks, depending on the severity of the condition,” Ewen said. he said.
Just outside Ste. Located in Ritchot’s RM, Agathe crews slept in their vehicles overnight, with each member taking turns monitoring the pumps and other equipment to ensure everything was working properly.
“For the next, probably two weeks, we will continue to monitor to make sure the Red River does not exceed capacity,” and to monitor the embankment of the community, said Joel Lemoine, who lives in the city.
Crews guard a mound north of Ste. Good on Saturday. (Radjaa Abdelsadok / Radio Canada)
Southwest of Rizzo, the city of Morden declared a local state of emergency on Saturday as rising water levels forced dozens of people to flee their homes.
Further north, the Fisher River Cree Nation, on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, was also in a state of emergency.
It was announced on Friday, due to fears that the rain this weekend would lead to a significant risk of flooding, First Nation said in a post on social media.
Chief David Crate says seven homes were directly affected by the floods and one household was evacuated because road access was deteriorating rapidly.
“The water has been rising in the river about a foot since last night, and … the other problem we are facing, of course, is the rain now,” he said. “We have land floods now.”
Crate says Indigenous Services Canada and the neighboring Peguis First Nation community have provided the Fisher River with inflatable Tiger dams, which we hope will help the flood-prone community.
Winnipeggers sandbag
In Winnipeg, people continue to make sandbags to protect homes threatened by rising water.
Andrew Valgardson spent part of Saturday collecting sandbags provided by the town of Winnipeg in the Waverley Street garage to help protect his mother-in-law’s house in Charleswood.
Her basement was flooded by pool water in the backyard, so she made two trips to fill his truck with sandbags.
Valgardson, who is a truck driver, said the weather was also bad for business.
“With snow and rain and everything, the roads are closed, the highways are closed. The warehouses are closed. The staff can not get to work. It was very bad,” he said.
Andrew Valgardson picked up sandbags on Saturday to help protect his mother-in-law’s home in Charleswood. (CBC)
Bob Hunt also picked up some sandbags on Saturday. He said there have been no floods so far, but he does not take any risks.
“I’m wrong in terms of attention. If you do not have the bags, they will flood,” he said.
As the rain continued to fall on Saturday, he said he had “never experienced such weather”.
“This is the winter from hell and he will not let go,” he said. “Maybe I should invest in a boat.”
Rainfall is expected to continue throughout the weekend and will eventually decrease on Sunday as the system moves from west to east.
For those who need sandbags, Winnipeg City says they are available for free, 24 hours a day, at three locations in the city: 1220 Pacific Ave., 1090 Thomas Ave. and 1539 Waverley St..
