Province ready to battle flooding

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This article was published 25/01/2011 (5693 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MANITOBA is as ready as it’s ever been to deal with a major flood, Premier Greg Selinger declared Monday as he announced the purchase of $22 million in new equipment and technology to aid in this spring’s flood fight.

Provincial and municipal officials have been discussing a potential flood for weeks and are putting their emergency operation plans in place.

Equipment purchased earlier than normal will be available when the water comes, the premier said.

The government is boosting its flood-fighting arsenal because it’s apparent flooding could be a problem on several fronts this year — not just the Red River Valley.

“Basically, we’ve upped our game in order to respond to a wider array of potential difficult situations,” Selinger told a news conference Monday.

Included among the new purchases:

— Two new mobile sandbag machines, bringing the total to five;

— 71 kilometres of portable diking, including 43 km of box-like frames that, when filled with gravel or sand, can be used in areas where heavy currents or debris are an issue;

— 500,000 sandbags, bringing the provincial stockpile to 2.2 million;

— 10,000 super sandbags, bringing that total to 20,000;

— 20 new steamers and trailers for de-icing drains and ditches, giving the province 57 in total;

— Two new ice-cutter vehicles for a total of seven;

— Three more amphibious vehicles to support Amphibex ice-crushing operations;

— More portable temporary bridges that can quickly restore access to damaged crossings;

— Computer software upgrades to collect and analyze water levels and flows; and

— Expansion of the provincial emergency co-ordination centre.

Selinger said that in addition to the new equipment, valued at $21 million, the province will also spend up to $1 million to help municipalities gear up for such flood preparation work as cleaning ditches, constructing temporary dikes and steaming culverts blocked by ice.

Asked how ready provincial and municipal officials are to handle the forecasted flood, the premier said: “I think they’re as ready as they have ever been, probably more so because they started earlier.”

— Larry Kusch