Heavy rain brings storm of problems and state of emergency to western Manitoba

A tell of local pinch has been stated in a Manitoba community of interests that was beaten-up by heavy rain, which led to flooding, power outages, a gas line rupture, a boil water advisory and a washed-out bridge.

About 15 centimetres of rain fell in the Minitonas area from about 9 p.m. Until about 2 a.m., Environment Canada said.

"[Storms] just kept lining up with that town, over and over and over again," said meteorologist Kyle McAuley.

There is a boil water advisory in effect as the power outage caused a loss of water pressure in the distribution system, which could compromise the safety of the water supply.

A gas line rupture also forced a partial evacuation of a Minitonas neighbourhood on Monday.

Early Monday, the Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman posted a Facebook message, urging residents to shelter in place "as we work together through this event."

Everyone in town is affected by the flooding, it said. Minitonas, about 375 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, had a population of 465 in 2021 census, Statistics Canada census data says.

High water levels on the East Favel River prompted the closure of the Second Avenue bridge in Minitonas, and Knox Avenue was also submerged, the municipality Facebook page said.

"Please proceed with caution when navigating all other roads and water crossings," the post said.

The landfill is closed as municipal staff concentrate on flooding-related issues.

The fire department will go door-to-door to inform people about how to handle submerged outlets, electrical panels, electronics and appliances while Manitoba Hydro works to restore power, the municipality said.

Minitonas is not alone in its flooding. Multiple highways are closed in the western part of the province, particularly in the Parkland area.

"The overnight rains kind of really inundated the ditches and all that, so a lot of bridges and streams and creeks and rivers are kind of just spilling their banks and just causing a lot of washouts or water over the road," said Derek Trainer, head of Manitoba's 511 network, which provides highway conditions.

Crews are putting up barricades where they can, and RCMP are assisting in some areas, he said.

Intense winds and hail came with the rain in some areas, McAuley said.

"We did have several tornado warnings, but so far, no confirmed reports of any."

Most of the warnings were around the Swan River region, about 15 km west of Minitonas, he said.

Bill Gade, reeve of the municipality of Swan River West, which neighbours Minitonas-Bowsman, had one word to describe the post-storm plight of his area: "Horrible."

"We have some people right now sitting on roofs of houses is the only way they can keep dry," he said.

Fire crews have been working for hours to get people out of flooded homes.

Gade believes 20-25 centimetres of rain fell in some parts of Duck Mountain Provincial Park. It then flowed into the river systems below.

"When the water came up, it was coming up a couple inches a minute," he said. "I believe we've lost every road between Swan River and the Duck Mountains in our municipality.

"We have some bridges that we can't see right now. We don't know if it's underwater … or if the bridge is gone."

One road has a 12-metre-deep washout and the railway track bed has been eroded in numerous places, he said.

The fire trucks nearly got stuck, so crews are doing water rescues with Zodiac boats, Gade said.

He estimated 100-150 people are out of their homes, but not everyone can be reached.

"We are no longer able to get anyone that has a medical emergency here … without a helicopter, and we certainly can't get to some of these people stranded in their houses without helicopters," he said.

His municipality hasn't declared an emergency yet, because they don't yet need the type of help that would provide, Gade said.

"Our hope is that this water is going to go down here in a few hours, and we'll be able to get back into these places. So certainly anyone that can shelter in place, that's what we're asking them to do."

The biggest hail reported so far was golf-ball sized in Canupawakpa Dakota Nation in the southwest corner of the province, McAuley said.

About 25 km west in Sinclair, the winds peaked at 112 km/h, the strongest in the province.

"It was a pretty eventful day in southeast Saskatchewan and western parts of Manitoba and central Manitoba and the Interlake," McAuley said. "We did have lots of very, very powerful storms."

Manitobans will get a bit of a breather from the storm activity, but not for too long, McAuley said.

"[Monday’s] going to be a pretty quiet day, but then Tuesday looks like a pretty active day starting around southwest Manitoba and then moving off to the northeast, probably going through the Red River Valley later on through the night as well," he said.

That will bring "a good chance of lots of rotating supercell thunderstorms that may be capable of producing tornadoes. There’s a good chance there will be [weather] watches out for that."

Reporter

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