'Everyone is safe,' infrastructure minister says after parts of western Manitoba hit by flash floods

facilitate is on the path for communities in the Swan vale neighborhood that were latterly hit by heavy rains, the Manitoba government says.

Up to 150 people were forced out of their homes after flash floods in Swan Valley, which Environment and Climate Change Canada said got about 72 millimetres of rain in only a few hours Sunday night.

Manitoba Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor says emergency management is working with municipalities to ensure food is distributed to people displaced.

"There are a couple of folks who are choosing to stay in their homes at this time, but they're in touch with local authorities and they believe that they're safe, and so evacuation isn't the concern at this moment."

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

Flooding near Minitonas, Man.

The province's hydrologic forecast centre has predicted more precipitation in the region in the next couple days, she said.

If the roads are too damaged to distribute food, the province might consider dropping it into impacted communities via helicopter, Naylor said.

The situation continues to unfold, and the province's response might change by the hour as water continues to flow into the community, the minister said.

"We will look for solutions, and we're going to make sure that the folks in our community have what they need."

The Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman, which neighbours Swan Valley West, declared a state of local emergency in the aftermath of the flood.

Rob Tomlinson, superintendent of Swan Valley School Division, says the school in Minitonas is dry but staff described it as "an island."

Tomlinson says most of the division's school buses were cancelled for Tuesday and are likely to remain cancelled for the rest of the week. 

Hundreds of western Manitobans in Swan Valley dealing with extensive flooding

A 62-year-old farmer who made a dramatic rescue in the middle of the night says rushing waters washed out his front yard.

Ian McKay, who lives on a farm near the West Favel River, north of Minitonas, used a hydraulic excavator to rescue his wife from their home around 3 a.m. Monday after the water tore a chasm in their yard, he says.

"She came out in her boots, and [the] water was about a foot deep, and [she] jumped up on the track and got onto the machine and rode on the side of the machine, and I drove it back."

McKay says his front yard is "completely gone," and a lot of mud was left in the home.

His wife joked about starting a fundraiser to replace the dirt in their front yard, he said.

"We don't need money. We just need dirt."

Mark McKay, Ian's son, lives on the east side of the East Favel River. He says he's never seen anything like the flooding.

"It was just an absolute raging current going everywhere and going over every road," he said.

"Thankfully, everybody is OK."

Some residents who sat on their roofs to stay dry Monday needed to be rescued, he said. 

However, the region is still in "emergency mode," Gade said.

"The water hasn't actually started to recede for us yet, [so] we're hoping that means we're at the peak now."

Damage estimates will likely be millions of dollars, hitting farmers who've just seeded crops after struggling with a late snow melt, Gade said.

"I would hazard a guess that we're probably closing in on tens [of millions], if not $50 million, of damage to farmland here just today."

It's a "heck of a mess," he said.

"We've been talking to a lot of people about just when they've seen anything like this, [and] they tell us 1988 was the last time."

Monday's water levels are nearly two feet higher than the flooding seen in 1988, Gade said.

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