Emergency declared in Man. municipality
CBC News | Posted: April 8, 2011 5:45 PM | Last Updated: April 8, 2011
The Rural Municipality of St. Andrews has declared a state of emergency due to floodwaters.
The area, along the Red River about 40 kilometres north of Winnipeg, was hit by a surge in river levels on Friday due to an ice jam.
The blockage backed up the water and forced it over the banks.
The water breached some dikes in the area, has flooded into one home on Breezy Point Road and is threatening others.
Declaring a state of emergency enables the municipality to access federal disaster assistance funds and force the evacuation of affected homes.
John and Roxanne Anderson, who also live on Breezy Point Road, are thinking about leaving.
John Anderson said the river's edge is usually about 215 metres from their home, on the other side of the roadway. It is currently 30 metres away and has submerged the road.
"It's not a matter of being ordered to leave or not being ordered. It's a matter of leaving while we can get out and I'm not sure that we even can at this point," he said.
Don Forfar, the reeve of St. Andrews, expects the water will continue to rise 8-10 centimetres an hour if the ice jam persists.
And if it moves on, he worries it will cause the Netley Creek to flood homes in Petersfield.
Levels drop in Winnipeg
In Winnipeg, river levels have dropped slightly since being pushed up on Thursday by two ice jams.
The jams cleared out by Friday morning and the Red River has dropped more than a half-metre since Thursday afternoon.
The Assiniboine River is fluctuating up and down but overall, it is down about 0.3 metres.
On Friday afternoon, divers were in Winnipeg's rivers plugging sewer outlet drains in low-lying areas to keep it from backing into the pipes and finding its way into residential basements.
Crews plug the drains then pump the water back into the river.