HOOP AND HOLLER BEND, Man. — Excavators were digging out a dike holding back the Assiniboine River even as the government continued Thursday to push back a decision to purposely flood homes and farmland in southern Manitoba.
Water Stewardship Minister Steve Ashton says the plan to break the dike is on hold until at least Saturday morning
Residents and soldiers were using every extra minute to pile sandbags around houses that could be swamped by a controlled release of water intended to avoid a deluge further downstream.
Lucy Kinnear can see the cut site from her house. Reservists were shoring up inflatable barriers around her home as she packed up some last-minute belongings.
The family just moved into their custom-built house two months ago.
“This piece of land is supposed to be high and dry,” said the mother of two-year-old twins as she snapped photos of soldiers who were surrounding the house with tubing. “We’re not supposed to get any flooding at all.”
Kinnear said she hadn’t had time to cry or feel bitter since she found out several days ago that her home is in the area of a deliberate flood spill.
She said she’s been running on adrenaline and hoping her newly built home can be saved.
“All we can do is get things out of the basement, make arrangements for our boys, our pets and ourselves — in that order — and hope for the best.
“There is not much time to think or feel. You just have to get it done. We haven’t had much sleep in the last couple of days. But we’re not tired. We’re just ... running on panic mode.”
The province says a controlled release of water would flood up to 225 square kilometres and could affect at least 150 homes. That compares with 500 square kilometres and 850 homes being swamped in several municipalities further downstream if levees fail under pressure from the rushing river.
But some residents in the spill zone were still hoping that the man-made breach could be avoided. Officials have said intentionally flooding the area is a last resort and will only happen if a diversion that normally handles overflow further upstream near Portage la Prairie reached capacity.
Another 50 homes on either side of the Portage Diversion were issued precautionary voluntary evacuation notices Thursday. About 150 families had already been told earlier in the week to leave.
The city of Brandon also announced the mandatory precautionary evacuation of a shopping and business centre in a low-lying area. The city said the latest forecast indicated water levels were rising due to recent rain.
About 1,000 residents were already out of their homes and another 1,000 were on standby to leave. Huge sandbag barriers were the only thing keeping the Assiniboine from surging through.
The area targeted for the man-made breach was a beehive of activity. Choppers flew overhead carrying sandbags, while trucks hauling rocks and more sandbags drove up and down back roads. Military reservists were stuffing sandbags and building up dikes around the river and threatened homes.
Henry Dyck has lived by the Hoop and Holler Bend in the river for 17 years and said he has never seen flood water like this. His property is separated from the oxbow by the road which doubles as the dike. He had pumps working around the clock to try to keep his house safe.
“I can’t imagine water going over this highway,” he said. “Anyone who’s in any type of disaster, at one point you kind of surrender. To get angry or upset always makes it worse.”
Back in Kinnear’s front yard, Cpl. Mitch Wilson was one of about two dozen reservists working to protect the home. The 19-year-old from Winnipeg had been shovelling heavy sand for several days and was running on five hours sleep, but still had a smile on his face.
“It’s tiring but we make it fun,” he said. “I think people really appreciate the help. It feels good to be out here and help people out. I feel proud to be a part of it. It feels good to know I’m helping out Canadians.”
Manitoba floods virtually every year, but it is usually the Red River that flows through Winnipeg that causes problems. This year, the Assiniboine to the west is at levels not seen in 300 years.