'Like a war zone,' resident says as western Manitoba flooding washes out roads, cuts off power

drone on footage shows washed-out bridge over in Manitoba glut district

Flooding prompts state of emergency in Swan River: mayor

Western Manitoba hit by heavy rains, flash flooding

Extensive flooding hits Swan Valley

Flood waters rush over fields, roads near Minitonas

For more on the flooding in western Manitoba, check out our stories on the storm forecast that's worrying residents and a farmer who fears her cattle may have been swept away.

Minitonas resident Peter Fleming says there's a "sense of panic" in the community on Tuesday, with flooding that's made cellphone service unreliable and cut off power, along with water being turned off in the area.

There's mud, debris and washouts all over in town, and "complete highways are gone" in the area, he said.

"It's kind of like a war zone," said Fleming. "I've got people actually standing out on my street right now because there's one spot where you can get a little bit of [cell] service ... Coming off of another tower."

He said though his neighbours both had more than a metre of water in their basements because of sewer backups, he's only had about 15 centimetres, which he's started pumping out. He's also been able to keep generators running his fridge and deep freeze so far, and has had people offer to pick up more fuel for them.

"So I'm lucky, you know — if you consider that lucky," Fleming said.

A closer look at Susan Hrycyk's cattle in a pasture surrounded by flooding in Lenswood, Man.

Flooding destroys road in western Manitoba

Video posted Monday by Wellman Lake Lodge, south of Minitonas, Man., in Duck Mountain, shows a road caved in at two points due to flooding.

Cam McIntyre, owner of Wellman Lake Lodge, about 30 kilometres south of Minitonas in Duck Mountain, said he was scrambling to get his family and food out of the resort.

Their higher elevation didn't flood, but they are without power. McIntyre has a generator, but not enough power to keep all his refrigeration equipment running.

"I own a restaurant in Swan River, so we're trying to get … our food down to try and save it."

He hopes the restaurant will avoid flooding, but he's more concerned about the situation in Minitonas. Those dealing with personal and business loss there have cabins and camp in Duck Mountain, he said.

"A few of my friends are on the fire department, saying it's pretty grim down there," he said, adding he expects the storm and its fallout will "devastate" his lodge's summer season, as most people will be focused on more pressing things than camping.

"We drove down yesterday morning to try to survey and try to get out but … there's rivers and rapids flowing where there's not supposed to be everywhere."

Susan Hrycyk, who has cattle on pasture close to the Swan River, said she's worried she won't be able to save them in time because surrounding roads are washing out.

"They are stranded," Hrycyk said, adding she found someone to take a private plane over the area "to see whether they're still there, or if they've floated away."

She's been frustrated by what she feels has been a lack of answers on who might be able to help.

"This water came so fast that we've never seen this in the 72 years that my father-in-law has lived out there," she said, getting emotional at times as she talked about her cattle.

"They're our livelihood…. So we're trying to look for a way to get them out of there."

The Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman says its water and sewer is shutting down.

The municipality posted the update on social media early Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, it said the community was without communications, parts were without hydro power, and it had intermittent water and sewer as the system worked to recover.

Manitoba Hydro said Tuesday its crews were working to restore power across areas hit by flooding, but about 450 customers still had no power, mostly in and around Minitonas.

Hydro said in a social media post updated Tuesday it was rebuilding a line to start restoring power and working with the local fire department to ensure safety, but had no estimated restoration time yet.

Elsewhere, the Crown corporation said most outages have been restored but there is still lots of work to do to make full repairs, including replacing poles and lines. Extra crews and specialized equipment continue to arrive in the area, Hydro said.

In the last 24 hours, what we've seen has been absolutely heartbreaking. Acres and acres of farm fields are completely under water.

Monday was very windy, blowing so hard it created white caps on farmers' fields.

Some of the debris we drove over had a large screw in it.

We know that, because we had a flat tire just outside of Roblin. People there were absolutely wonderful and helpful, and got us back on the road in record time.

The destination is still Swan River, detouring through Saskatchewan, keeping our eye on the roads and the high ditches.

As I write this, I'm on Highway 83. That's just south of Swan River and north of Roblin.

We can't go any further because one side of the road is completely gone, and the other is piled with mud and debris. The side of the road that is gone leads down to a steep embankment. On both sides are ditches that are now rushing rivers.

The plan, though, is to turn around and go into Saskatchewan and take highways north and eventually into Swan River, coming at it from the west.

Bill Gade, reeve for Swan Valley West, which includes the town of Swan River, said a section of Highway 10 between Swan River and Minitonas collapsed late Monday afternoon, hauling down power lines and making it even harder to get in and out of the area.

"There's a 40-foot hole where there used to be a highway," he said.

Gade said some homes along the Roaring River — a tributary of the Swan River — that have never flooded are filled now. The situation is similar along the edge of the Swan River townsite.

Rain that fell over the Manitoba Escarpment in Duck Mountain flowed down into the valley rivers, which were already swelling, but that has started to recede in some places, he said.

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