Overland flood watch in place for all of southern, central Manitoba as more rain on the way

The provincial government issued an overland flood watch on Monday for all of southern and central Manitoba in light of a series of weather systems that could bring as much as 60 millimetres of rain over the week.

Parts of the province saw as much as 25 millimetres of rain on Monday, while a second system beginning on Friday has the potential to bring another 20 to 40 millimetres, the government said in a flood bulletin.

Most ditches and waterways are either full or near capacity, so heavy rain occurring over a short period on saturated soil could create overland flooding.

Manitoba's hydrologic forecast centre will update its water level forecasts to determine the effect all the rain will have on areas already experiencing flooding, according to a provincial news bulletin.

Meanwhile, the province has issued another flood warning for the Vermillion River that flows through the Dauphin area.

Morris Mayor Scott Crick was more concerned about the effects of more precipitation on the surrounding municipalities than his town.

"As much as we're not happy with the rain and it's going to prolong the flooding, it won't impact [Morris] as much as it will some of the surrounding municipalities," Crick said Monday evening.

He said the levels in nearby tributaries and on the river have levelled off since the flood last week.

But Crick estimates Highway 75 won't reopen for another month at the south end and five or six weeks at the north end. He said in 2011, the highway was closed for about four weeks and it was closed for about six weeks in 2009 during significant floods those years.

"Obviously no more rain would make everybody happy, and I think starting to see the water continue to move down the river would be good," he said. "If we're sitting at our crest right now, having rain on top of the crest isn't great."

Arborg was hit hard by flooding last week, but mayor Peter Dueck said Monday the river level seemed to have sunk by about a metre at the local bridge.

"It is just a whole lot better than last week; I believe that all of the places that were sandbagged are no longer relying on sandbags," he said. "The water is down well below that, and the intersection, highway number 7 and number 68, is open to traffic."

Dueck said numerous washed out roads and culverts still need to be repaired.

Several warnings and high water advisories are in effect and can be found in the daily flood report for Manitoba.

The Red River flood of 2022 is already the sixth-largest on record by volume based on flows recorded at Emerson, where the river is cresting, and Ste. Agathe. In recent memory, only the 1997 and 2009 floods were larger.