Flood fears spreading through southern Manitoba

A worsening flood forecast for the Red River basin has people in Selkirk and on farms in southern Manitoba fearing the worst.

Ice jams triggered flooding two years ago in Selkirk, about 35 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Several residents and businesses located alongside the river worry the same could happen this year, and are already packing their belongings for a quick evacuation.

Meanwhile, the forecast for the rising waters has caused distress forofficials at the Canadian Wheat Board whofear much of the province's grain stocks could get damaged.

Board spokesman Rheal Cenerini said farmers in the Red River basin are being urged to get their grain stores out of the area. Cenerini said railway freight priority will be given to the farmers with storage areas below expected flood level.

'We're preparing here for the worst. If it doesn't happen, that's best for us. But we don't want to take any chances.' Shaylene Nordal, Marine Museum of Manitoba

"We're trying to give farmers the opportunity to deliver the grain, to get grain out of whatever granaries they have that might be at risk from flooding, and bring it to the elevator where we can then transfer the grain into the various markets where we sell it," Cenerini said.

Municipalities in the region have also mailed letters to warn residents of potential evacuations and the need for sandbagging.

"Well, there's a lot of concerns. Just look back a few years ago when the city of Selkirk flooded. That's an extreme concern for me," said Steve Strang, mayor of St. Clements, about 13 kilometres east of Selkirk. "But you're far better to be proactive than reactive, and this is what's going on here. So I think we're going to fare this fairly well."

Provincial crews are preparing to work on trouble spots on the Red River, using five ice cutters and two Amphibex Excavators to break up the ice. The Amphibex machines are amphibious, designed to be on the water while dredging and punching through ice and other materials.

2nd-highest flood waters on record expected

Provincial flood forecasters are predicting the second-highest water levels on record, equal to that of 1979.

That flood is ranked second only to the flood of the century in 1997, which caused $4.4 billion in damage along the Red River valley between Winnipeg and Grand Forks, and forced about80,000 people from their homes.

Despite the concerns, Ronuk Modha at the Manitoba Floodway Authority insists the province is ready to handle whatever comes this way. A $600-million-plus expansion project to deepen the floodway channel around Winnipeg is nearly complete, but will already provide "significantly greater flood protection today than we did in 1997."

Even with the floodway protection, Winnipeg city officials are preparing for the possibility that almost 300 homes will have to be sandbagged. For that,about 760,000 of the bags would be needed, said Barry MacBride, director of the city's water and waste department.

He is also advisinghomeowners to check their sump pumps and backwater valves to prepare themselves.

For those areasunprotected bythe Red River floodway, the province has three million sandbags stockpiled even thoughmanycommunities have built up their dikes substantially since the 1997 tide.

On Monday, Manitoba's provincial flood forecasters said close to 2,000 homes, businesses and farmyards have been protected to a half-metre above the level of the 1997 flood.

Still, the mayor of Ritchot, 35 kilometres south of Winnipeg, is already preparing to open an emergency centre.

Marine museum moving artifacts

As well, staff at the Marine Museum of Manitoba in Selkirk have begun to remove artifacts. The museum, which gathers ships, artifacts and other items relating to marine life, to tell the story of the development and the operation of marine life on Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, was damaged two years earlier.

"We're a little bit worried at this point," said museum manager Shaylene Nordal. "When you hear there's lots of water coming from down south the ice is pretty thick here, so we're preparing here for the worst. If it doesn't happen, that's best for us. But we don't want to take any chances."

Last week, officials in Grand Forks, N.D., declared a state of emergency after a winter storm dumped 13 centimetres of snow. The soil in the area was already saturated and had flood forecasters predicting high water levels.

The Red River flows north from the United States into Manitoba before emptying into Lake Winnipeg.