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Flooding in Manitoba’s Parkland area has swamped already-waterlogged communities, washed out roads and forced the closure of a provincial park — stranding campers, cottagers, lodge guests and staff.
It’s the latest deluge in an area still recovering from major flooding earlier in June.
“We just had that three weeks ago. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Peter Fleming, who lives in Minitonas, Man., about 365 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
“Well holy, man. It’s back, and it’s back with vengeance.”
The same weather system that brought thunderstorms to the region in the western part of the province Monday night dumped more rain Tuesday, leaving people scrambling to protect homes and properties previously slammed by flash flooding.
Candace Mattson, a volunteer in Minitonas, used an all-terrain vehicle to deliver sandbags to residents in the community Tuesday. She said 5,000 sandbags were made by volunteers for pickup and delivery.
Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure reports several roads are closed due to flooding and washouts, including portions of highways 10 and 83. Some of the road closures are from the previous flood.
Larry Mychalchuk, reeve of the Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman, told CBC News that crews have been cutting some roads to allow water to flow, and volunteers have been helping people sandbag.
He said Tuesday afternoon that “things are changing minute by minute” and it was hard to know whether they were losing or gaining ground on the water flowing through the municipality.
Provincial park closed
South of the municipality, Duck Mountain Provincial Park was closed after multiple road washouts.
Manitoba Parks said in a notice on its website that all four access points on provincial roads 366 and 367 were closed.
A video taken by Travis McCauley on Tuesday and shared by Wellman Lake Lodge on its Facebook page shows a washed-out portion of Provincial Road 367 southwest of Child’s Lake in Duck Mountain Provincial Park. The Manitoba park has been closed because there’s no way in or out.
Officials asked any residents, cottagers, campers and visitors who are in the park to remain in place until roads are reopened.
Cam McIntyre, owner of Wellman Lake Lodge, said while he’s not aware of anyone in any imminent danger, the flooding is much worse than earlier this month, when people in the park were able to get in and out.
He said there’s not many people in the provincially run campgrounds right now because people haven’t been able to get to the area or haven’t wanted to take the chance because of the forecast.
There are “a few people in there,” McIntyre said. “Maybe three, four campers in there, and then there’s a couple of people in our cabins right now. And then there’s the local cottage owners that are up here. There’s probably a dozen or more people that live up here.”
The lodge has enough supplies to get by for now, so McIntyre isn’t panicking. But he worries the situation could get more serious if the electricity, which was knocked out by downed power lines during the last flood, goes out again.
“Things will change quickly if the power goes out, but right now, we’re OK for a while,” McIntyre said.
The same weather system that brought thunderstorms Monday night dropped more rain in western Manitoba on Tuesday. Some communities in the Parkland area still recovering from overland flooding only three weeks ago are once again battling rising water.
Across the Parkland, the town of Swan River, which was hit during the previous flood, the municipalities of Roblin and Gilbert Plains, and the city of Dauphin are among the other communities dealing with flooding, according to information shared on their Facebook pages.
Residents in some of those communities are being asked to limit water usage to reduce the strain on wastewater systems, while Gilbert Plains posted that it has declared a local state of emergency.
Co-workers helped across flooded highway
A group of co-workers returning from their jobs in Sapotaweyak Cree Nation came upon fast-flowing water rushing across a section of Highway 10 south of Mafeking, Man., which was carrying debris, including logs and boulders.
Caitlin Fedoriw, 28, and Ali Sandy, 19, were among a group of colleagues who got dropped off at the washout, helped across the rushing water and picked up on the other side to get home to Swan River.
“I didn’t have any medications or anything like that to be able to stay (on the other side of the washout) for who knows how long,” Fedoriw said.
Fedoriw and Sandy said another one of their colleagues was also trying to get home to her children.
A provincial spokesperson said in an email flooding across waterways in western Manitoba and the Parkland has left many waterways with “dangerous high water conditions.”
The province said non-essential travel across these regions is not recommended. Residents are being warned to be cautious around waterways, and people are being told they should not cross flooded highways and should follow posted detours.
Manitoba Hydro said in a release washed-out roads and downed poles have cut off access to communities like Childs Lake, Benito, Minitonas and Swan River.
“The additional rain … some of that water is continuing to feed down and washing out more roads,” Hydro spokesperson Scott Powell told CBC. “It’s making access a real challenge for us.”
