Provincial hydrologist Fisaha Unduce predicts that the Red River will peak around May 10 at a level slightly lower than that of the 2009 flood, which closed Highway 75 for weeks and required the evacuation of some farmland. Under favorable conditions, the peak of spring will be somewhere between the floods of 2011 and 2009. According to the worst case scenario, the flood could be even greater than in 2009. Under the three scenarios, the volume of water in this year’s flood is expected to exceed that of the 2009 flood, but water levels will not be as high as ice in the river in 2009 raised water levels, Unduce said. Peak levels this year are not expected to be as high as all the ice has been removed from the river, especially in Winnipeg, which is protected by the Red River Floodway, he said. However, a 2009 flood will be a major event that will likely close most of Highway 75 for several weeks and require the precautionary evacuation of dozens of properties that may lose access to emergency services by road, the minister said. Manitoba Infrastructure, Doyle Pyunik. Manitoba may be forced to bypass truck traffic to the U.S. on Highway 3 if North Dakota closes Interstate 29, he said. Just in March, Unduce had downgraded the prospect of a major flood this spring. Then came unusual snow in April followed by unusual rain. Four major rain systems were launched in the province in April and meteorologists are monitoring another major system expected to hit the area this weekend. It is expected to bring another 30 to 80 millimeters of rain in southern Manitoba. “The chance of that rain falling in April was like one in 87,” Unduce said. Piwniuk blamed the Colorado lowlands for bringing so much moisture to Manitoba. “If it’s an Alberta clipper, there’s not much moisture in this snow, and we got a lot of Alberta razors in the winter. But when we have low Colorado levels, that’s the variable,” he said. “There we get a lot of moisture and there it’s kind of connected to the Gulf Stream.” Every community along the Red River has flood protection infrastructure built to handle the expected peak in May. Every First Nation town and community along the Red in Manitoba is protected by an annular embankment two feet above the level of the 1997 flood. Any property outside these communities that ended up being damaged in the 1997 flood also had to build its foundations. As a result, only a handful of farms and plots that could be cut down face potential evacuations, Piwniuk said. The province is planning these evacuations by pre-registering people in the flood zone who may be affected, said Johanu Botha, deputy minister in charge of emergency management. Sandblasting machines have been delivered to communities across the Red River Valley and infrastructure officials are monitoring the land floods, he said. “Overall, our emergency response system has been strengthened and we are well placed to respond to events that may occur,” Botha said. The city of Winnipeg is also expected to announce additional properties for the possible need to build embankments with sandbags. Unduce said that with the floodplain in operation, he does not expect the Red River to reach Winnipeg by about 20 feet above the normal winter ice level on James Avenue. As of Friday, Red in Winnipeg was 17.3 feet James. The river peaked at 22.6 feet James in 2009, mainly due to ice blockage at a time when the floodwaters could not function. The peak volume of the Red River at the Flood entrance south of Winnipeg during the 2009 flood was 97,000 cubic feet per second. Unduce said the Red is expected to peak south of Winnipeg at a peak volume this spring of somewhere between 94,000 and 121,000 cubic feet per second. The 1997 flood reached 138,000 cubic feet per second.

title: “The Red River Flood Is Now Expected To Reach 2009 The Worst Since 1997 Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Cecilia Sebek”

Provincial hydrologist Fisaha Unduce predicts that the Red River will peak around May 10 at a level slightly lower than that of the 2009 flood, which closed Highway 75 for weeks and required the evacuation of some farmland. Under favorable conditions, the peak of spring will be somewhere between the floods of 2011 and 2009. According to the worst case scenario, the flood could be even greater than in 2009. Under the three scenarios, the volume of water in this year’s flood is expected to exceed that of the 2009 flood, but water levels will not be as high as ice in the river in 2009 raised water levels, Unduce said. Peak levels this year are not expected to be as high as all the ice has been removed from the river, especially in Winnipeg, which is protected by the Red River Floodway, he said. However, a 2009 flood will be a major event that will likely close most of Highway 75 for several weeks and require the precautionary evacuation of dozens of properties that may lose access to emergency services by road, the minister said. Manitoba Infrastructure, Doyle Pyunik. Manitoba may be forced to bypass truck traffic to the U.S. on Highway 3 if North Dakota closes Interstate 29, he said. Just in March, Unduce had downgraded the prospect of a major flood this spring. Then came unusual snow in April followed by unusual rain. Four major rain systems were launched in the province in April and meteorologists are monitoring another major system expected to hit the area this weekend. It is expected to bring another 30 to 80 millimeters of rain in southern Manitoba. “The chance of that rain falling in April was like one in 87,” Unduce said. Piwniuk blamed the Colorado lowlands for bringing so much moisture to Manitoba. “If it’s an Alberta clipper, there’s not much moisture in this snow, and we got a lot of Alberta razors in the winter. But when we have low Colorado levels, that’s the variable,” he said. “There we get a lot of moisture and there it’s kind of connected to the Gulf Stream.” Every community along the Red River has flood protection infrastructure built to handle the expected peak in May. Every First Nation town and community along the Red in Manitoba is protected by an annular embankment two feet above the level of the 1997 flood. Any property outside these communities that ended up being damaged in the 1997 flood also had to build its foundations. As a result, only a handful of farms and plots that could be cut down face potential evacuations, Piwniuk said. The province is planning these evacuations by pre-registering people in the flood zone who may be affected, said Johanu Botha, deputy minister in charge of emergency management. COMPARISON The extent of significant floods over the years: Flood Coverage in Southern Manitoba Floods of 1826, 1852, 1950, 1979, 1997, 2009 and 2011. (Charlie Brockman / CBC News Graphics)
Sandblasting machines have been delivered to communities across the Red River Valley and infrastructure officials are monitoring the land floods, he said. “Overall, our emergency response system has been strengthened and we are well placed to respond to events that may occur,” Botha said. The city of Winnipeg is also expected to announce additional properties for the possible need to build embankments with sandbags. Unduce said that with the floodplain in operation, he does not expect the Red River to reach Winnipeg by about 20 feet above the normal winter ice level on James Avenue. As of Friday, Red in Winnipeg was 17.3 feet James. The river peaked at 22.6 feet James in 2009, mainly due to ice blockage at a time when the floodwaters could not function. The peak volume of the Red River at the Flood entrance south of Winnipeg during the 2009 flood was 97,000 cubic feet per second. Unduce said the Red is expected to peak south of Winnipeg at a peak volume this spring of somewhere between 94,000 and 121,000 cubic feet per second. The 1997 flood reached 138,000 cubic feet per second.

The latest forecast for the Manitoba floods

The spring flood on the Red River is now expected to approach the volume of the 2009 flood, which was the highest since the 1997 flood of the century, provincial meteorologists say. 2:14