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Red unofficially reaches flood level; volunteers wanted
Volunteers wanted
The city is looking for about 500 volunteers to help sandbag low-lying properties at risk of flooding.
Randy Hull, Winnipeg's emergency preparedness coordinator, said volunteers should phone 311 to register to sandbag. They will then be directed to properties in need.
Hull said the Red River rose more than a foot today, and the water levels will continue to rise in the coming days.
About 109 properties need to have their dikes completed by Sunday, Hull said.
Flood Fight
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The latest news about flooding in southern Manitoba this spring.
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Points of interest in Manitoba's flood fight
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Compare today's river level in Winnipeg with levels during the 1950, 1997 and 2009 floods.
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WINNIPEG - The Red River in Winnipeg has finally reached unofficial flood level.
As of 4 p.m., the Red River had risen to 18 feet above normal winter ice levels at the James Avenue monitoring station. While the Red remains well within its banks inside the city, 18 feet James is the arbitrary level city officials consider a flood.
At 20 feet James, some low-lying properties must be protected by sandbag dikes. Flood-protection officials like to build in two feet of "freeboard" to guard against sudden river fluctuations, such as the ones caused by ice jams.
Traditionally, the city begins advising some property owners to begin building sandbag dikes at 18 feet James. The city actually made this recommendation for 110 properties two days ago, when river levels started to rise above 14 feet James.
Another 450 properties, at slightly higher elevations, remain on the city’s flood-protection list this spring.
For more information see www.manitoba.ca/flood.
History
Updated on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 4:27 PM CDT: Adds that Red has now reached flood level
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