Peguis evacuation owing to flooding may be inevitable: minister

The Manitoba government warned Tuesday Peguis First Nation will likely need to be evacuated owing to the severe risk of flooding and it called on public servants to help.

“It’s a bit of an all-hands-on-deck situation,” Lisa Naylor, minister of transportation and infrastructure, said Tuesday.

The request was made as dozens of volunteers from across Canada have been making their way to Peguis First Nation, located next to the Fisher River north of Winnipeg. They are helping to set up sandbags and build clay dikes to protect homes.

Naylor said an evacuation is “very likely,” even if flooding just cuts off road access.

“If we’re cutting off the roads to the community, it’s not safe to be there; there’s not medical care access (and) support can’t get in and out,” she said.

“All of this preparation doesn’t guarantee no evacuations, but what it means is that if you do have to evacuate, when you go home, your home will be protected.”

Preparations began last week after the flood-prone First Nation was warned water levels could rise similar to those in 2022, when more than 2,000 residents were forced out and hundreds of homes were damaged.

The province’s spring outlook shows that the Interlake region, which includes Peguis, is expected to get warmer weather this week, increasing the risk of flooding.

The spring outlook says runoff in the Fisher and Icelandic River basins could start next week, with peak flows between April 23 and 28.

The Canadian Red Cross and volunteers with Team Rubicon, a veteran-led national humanitarian aid organization, are in the community, along with more than 100 employees in the transportation and infrastructure department.

No details were provided about the call-out for more civil servants to help at the First Nation.

As of Monday, nearly 110,000 filled sandbags had been delivered to the community. Naylor said the City of Winnipeg also sent sandbags.

Peguis issued a call-out looking for equipment operators and drivers.

The spring outlook says there’s a risk of overland flooding in parts of southern and central Manitoba if the weather warms up dramatically in the next two days.

Below-freezing temperatures Thursday until Sunday may slow the melt, but higher temperatures next week could increase the risk for a “rapid, concentrated spring runoff period,” the bulletin says.

Runoff has begun in southern Manitoba basins. Peak flows along the Red River could range from 32,000 to 45,000 cubic feet per second later this April, dependant on weather conditions.

The Red River may peak at 17.7 ft., at James Avenue, between April 21 and 25 if the weather is “normal.” The Red River Floodway could start to operate as early as this weekend to control Winnipeg water levels.

Conditions can change rapidly as the spring spring melt progresses, the province warned in its flood outlook.

— The Canadian Press, with files from Gabrielle Piché