Montcalm evacuates homes as Red River rises

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/04/2020 (2149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoban communities along the Red River basin are doing their best to weather a different storm amid the COVID-19 crisis.

As forecasted, the river is rising toward flood levels, beginning in North Dakota, where the northward flow is anticipated to crest at most points over the week.

At Pembina, N.D., the Red is expected to reach 48.17 feet by 11 a.m. today; by Wednesday, it’s forecasted to surpass 49 feet, entering into the major flood stage.

On the Canadian side of the border, the flow is generally projected to slightly exceed levels from spring 2019, but the typical reality of co-ordinating flood protection now encompasses physical distancing and pandemic control.

The Rural Municipality of Montcalm, about 80 kilometres south of Winnipeg, is no stranger to spring flooding: the region is abutted by the Red to the east, and certain portions also straddle the Roseau River. It’s not unusual for area residents to ponder evacuating for their self-protection as water encroaches.

This year, however, the rising water levels coincided with provincial directives to stay home.

Montcalm Reeve Paul Gilmore said for at least eight residences, that declaration had to be amended: on Sunday, the RM declared a local state of emergency to evacuate those residents safely.

The homes along Provincial Road 246 and St. Mary’s Road are protected by dikes, Gilmore said, although the roads in front of them have become overwhelmed by overflow.

“Our main concern is (in the case of an emergency), they’d have no exit out,” he said over the phone Monday.

While waiting out the flood, the residents of those homes — around 15, Gilmore said — are hunkering down in motels in Altona and Winnipeg, where the Red’s levels are forecast to peak at 19-19.5 feet between April 17 and 20.

Other communities in the basin are expecting river levels to peak in the coming days, too.

At St. Adolphe, the Red was at 758.58 feet, with a peak of as high as 764.8 expected April 20-25; St. Agathe’s level sat at 763.8 Monday, and is forecasted to reach a peak of 768-769.4 feet next week.

In Emerson, the levels sat at 786.38 Monday afternoon, and are forecasted to reach 789.7 — slightly lower than the peak of 790.3 the community faced in the spring flood of 2011. On Saturday, the reeve of Emerson-Franklin said the flood situation should be manageable.

Much the same for the Town of Morris, Mayor Scott Crick said. The community is fully contained within a ring dike, so Crick said he’s “guardedly optimistic” about the town’s prospects.

However, a key concern for Morris, as well as other rural communities, is how the floods will affect roads, and therefore, access to goods and services during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In North Dakota, the government is advising any motorists who encounter a washed-out road or highway to turn around; Manitoba continues to advise motorists avoid all non-essential travel.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca