Residents with medical needs evacuated from Peguis amid flood threat

Some of the most vulnerable Peguis First Nation residents have been evacuated from the flood-threatened community.

Denise Bear, the nurse in charge of the Peguis Health Centre, told the community in a video on social media that three people in the Priority 1 category were evacuated on Monday with more to follow on Tuesday.

Bear said those in the Priority 1 category include people using wheelchairs, those with complex medical needs requiring special equipment, residents needing dialysis, and children with complex medical needs.

She said women who are 35 weeks or more into their pregnancies are also part of the evacuation.

Not everyone wants to leave, the nurse said.

“We are allowing them to wait if they want to wait… we are keeping track of people who are staying home and choosing not to evacuate,” she said.

Bear said these residents are being taken to hotels in Selkirk and, once accommodation there is full, hotels in Winnipeg will be used.

As to when other residents will be evacuated, Bear said they will let them know.

“Right now, there is no one else designated to evacuate,” she said. “The situations where we will evacuate a household is if flooding breaches a barrier, sewage, water or hydro becomes compromised, your road is compromised where you can’t access your home — we will evacuate people in those situations.”

Peguis, located about 180 kilometres north of Winnipeg, is under a state of emergency. About 3,800 people live at the First Nation.

Provincial flood forecasters have predicted levels of the Fisher River, which runs through the community, could be as high as record levels in 2022. That year, about 2,000 people were evacuated from the community and millions of dollars of damage was caused.

Officials have assessed about 225 homes as at risk by floodwaters and more than 500,000 sandbags and 11,000 super sandbags have been sent to the community to help.

Meanwhile, the province says a number of highway closures in recent days due to washouts and sinkholes is not a sign of a bad flood season on the horizon.

“Washouts and sinkholes are not unusual during spring and are most often linked to a combination of factors including melting snow and heavier run-off,” a provincial spokesperson said. “Some areas are more susceptible than others because of soil type or topography.”

The spokesperson said the province will continue to monitor road conditions closely.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca