People were stranded after heavy rain brought flooding, state of emergency to western Manitoba

Up to 150 people feature been forced come out of their homes by wink flooding in Swan vale as communities in Manitoba's Parkland neighborhood continue to deal with the aftermath of heavy rains Sunday.

Swan Valley West Reeve Bill Gade previously called on the province to send in helicopters for people who have been stranded by the flood, as communities in the area deal with power outages, a gas line rupture, a boil water advisory and a washed-out bridge following severe thunderstorms over the weekend.

Between 100 and 150 people could be out of their homes because of the storm in the area about 360 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg — but not everyone could be reached, he said.

Some fire trucks nearly got stuck while crews were attempting rescues, with first responders having to resort to using Zodiac boats to get people out, Gade said. Heavy farm equipment was later used to get people off their roofs, he said.

"As far as we know, everyone is safe," she said.

Naylor couldn't say where people who left their homes are staying, saying emergency management is sorting through all the logistics with local leadership.

The Swan Valley got about 72 millimetres of rain in just a few hours Sunday evening as heavy thunderstorm activity walloped western Manitoba over the weekend, Environment Canada said.

The water was "coming up a couple inches a minute," Gade said. He believed every road between Swan River and the Duck Mountains had been "lost."

"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," he 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."

Swan Valley West had 2,759 residents as of the 2021 census.

Multiple highways were 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 were putting up barricades where they could, and RCMP were assisting in some areas, he said.

The Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman, which neighbours Swan Valley West, declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of the flood, urging residents in a Facebook message early Monday morning to shelter in place "as we work together through this event."

A boil water advisory was in effect as a 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.

Everyone in town is affected by the flooding, the social media post said. Minitonas, about 375 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, had a population of 465 in the 2021 census.

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 said.

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

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.

The Town of Swan River, which is surrounded by the Swan Valley West municipality and is west of Minitonas, is offering support to the flooded areas.

Mayor Lance Jacobson said besides damage to homes, the flooding will be devastating to "some of the greatest farmland in the province."

"A lot of it is destroyed," he said.

"I don't know if our producers, you know, that are being affected by the overland flooding will even be able to recover from this. This might be a writeoff … in certain parts of the valley."

Environment Canada meteorologist Matt Loney said Minitonas received the largest amount of rainfall in the region in the aftermath of the storms, with about 148 millimetres of rain in only a few hours Sunday night.

"We had very heavy rainfall … some large hail and some severe, straight-line thunderstorm winds" over the weekend, Loney said. 

Some parts of Manitoba saw winds of over 110 km/h, he said. The biggest hail reported was golf-ball sized in Canupawakpa Dakota Nation in the southwest corner of the province, Environment Canada said.

"Several of those storms did have tornado warnings on them," Loney said. "At this time, we haven't received any specific tornado reports."

The forecast is for "a bit of a lull," with a chance of afternoon showers Monday, but there was the potential for some more heavy rain Tuesday, Loney said.

"We would encourage folks to have a way of getting alerts and keeping an eye on the sky," he said.

Hundreds of western Manitobans in Swan Valley dealing with extensive flooding

---

---