‘I’ve never seen a storm like this’

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This article was published 30/06/2009 (6166 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Provincial officials have described the weekend’s rain storm as one of the worst summer storms to hit the province in 20 years.

The storm deluged communities throughout southeastern Manitoba. The accompanying high winds played havoc with power lines in cottage country and sent waves crashing on Lake Winnipeg, destroying an earthen dike at Winnipeg Beach.

"This was a massive storm that stretched from just north of Fargo to Berens River," Alf Warkentin, the province’s river flood forecaster, said. "We’ve had localized events in the past but nothing on this scale in the summer.

"It’s a one-in-20-year kind of event for the summer."

The storm damaged 20 homes and the local community centre at Sagkeeng, where leaders there declared a state of emergency.

At Winnipeg Beach, 20-foot waves destroyed a five-block stretch of an earthen dike and then swallowed up giant chunks of lakefront cottage lots.

Manitoba Hydro crews were still busy Monday, trying to restore power to cottages at Victoria Beach.

At Emerson, the Red River rose three feet in a 24-hour period over the weekend, where the river is now 20 feet above normal summer levels and is expected to rise another six feet.

The storm dumped 125 millimetres of rain onto Garson and 102 millimetres on St. Pierre-Jolys.

At Winnipeg Beach, Mayor Don Pepe credits the clay dike built in 2005 with saving several lakefront cottages in the community but added the storm was so bad that a five-block stretch of dike was destroyed.

With the protection gone, Lake Winnipeg gobbled up large chunks of backyards.

"I’ve been here 27 years and I’ve never seen a summer storm like this," Pepe said.

Pepe said the town can’t afford to rebuild the dike, adding he’s been in contact with the province to help finance the project.

At Sagkeeng, the storm is estimated to have caused about $400,000 in damages to properties.

Coun. Lyle Morrisseau said as many as 20 homes suffered extensive roof damage from winds that gusted up to 100 km/h. The community hall also suffered extensive roof damage.

Several other homes in low lying area suffered basement flooding as surrounding creeks overflowed their banks, Morrisseau said.

At least one home is in danger of slipping into the Winnipeg River, as high winds drove waves that destroyed large chunks of the community’s river bank.

"Homes that were far away from the river now find themselves right up against the bank," Morrisseau said. Warkentin said the strong winds caused the level of the southern portion of Lake Winnipeg to rise three feet on the weekend, to over 718 feet.

Manitoba Hydro, which uses Lake Winnipeg as a giant reservoir for its hydro dams, said it’s doing all it can to reduce the level of the lake.

"We’ve been operating our outlet controls at 100 per cent since November," Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider said.

At Winnipeg Beach, Jeff Itzkow said he lost 10 to 15 feet of lake frontage from the rear of his cottage lot.

Itzkow said the cottage has been in the family for 40 years, adding he’s received estimates of $40,000 to construct erosion mitigation on his lot and two adjoining ones owned by family members.

In the City of Winnipeg, a senior official said about 20 homes reported basement flooding from sewer back-up, adding however that number is consistent with the type of storm that swept through the province.

Warkentin said the Red River in downtown Winnipeg has risen more than five feet in the past 10 days and expects it to rise almost another four feet before it crests on the weekend.

Warkentin said he expects the walkway at The Forks will remain under water until mid-July.

The province reported that portions of several highways — 314, 315, 307, 319, 500 — all have water on the roadways.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

 

Storm facts

Most amount of rainfall (Friday to Sunday): Garson, 125 millimetres.

Rainfall in Winnipeg: 50.6 millimetres, at The Forks.

Number of flooded basements from sewer back-up in Winnipeg: 10 on Saturday, 8 on Sunday.

The level of the Red River in downtown Winnipeg Monday morning: 12.5 feet above winter ice level — four feet higher than walkways at The Forks, and six feet higher than normal summer levels. The level is expected to crest at 16 feet on the weekend.

The Winnipeg River level: 5.5 feet above normal summer levels and expected to rise another foot.

Power outages: Power was restored to Grand Beach and Grand Marais Sunday night and was expected to be restored at Victoria Beach Monday night.