Neighbourhoods flooded by storm

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/06/2013 (4673 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A downpour Thursday night overwhelmed the storm-drainage capacity in sections of southwest Winnipeg, stranding cars in flooded parking lots and flooding basements.

Shortly before 8 p.m., a rainstorm doused sections of Winnipeg, apparently hitting Tuxedo, southern River Heights and northwestern Fort Garry hard, among other areas.

Kenaston Boulevard was closed north of the Sterling Lyon Parkway due to flooding.

On Wilkes Avenue, parents attending a kindergarten-to-Grade 4 concert for Linden Christian School emerged from Grant Memorial Church to find their vehicles submerged in the parking lot.

“It proved to be a very dramatic ending to the concert,” quipped school principal Rob Charach as tow trucks pulled vehicles from the flooded parking lot.

“I think the system just got overwhelmed.”

A video posted on YouTube Thursday night showed shoppers at IKEA walking through water inside the store.

The City of Winnipeg was asked to confirm the extent of the drainage problems. Twitter erupted with images of flooded ditches, intersections, basements and at least one lawn.

Neil Corrigan of Woodfield Bay in Charleswood said his street was completely flooded and impassable. The water was halfway up his lawn, he said. His basement was flooded, he added.

“Sorry I sold my canoe,” he quipped.

Gina Unger said her street in Tuxedo, Stanford Bay, was under water and one person kayaked down it. She said there is a bit of water in her basement and some neighbours’ basements.

She said she was running fans to dry the moisture trickling in.

 

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca greg.lockert@freepress.mb.ca

Warning: some strong language in video below.