Archived News Releases

Summer Flood Bulletin #19

• The Manitoba government advises wind warnings are in place for today, tonight and tomorrow for the South Basin of Lake Winnipeg and the southern shorelines of Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, Lake of the Woods and Dauphin Lake.
• For today, there is a high lake wind effect warning in effect for the south shoreline of Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba, a moderate-high lake wind effect warning for the south shorelines of Lake Winnipegosis and the South Basin of Lake Winnipeg, and a moderate lake wind effect warning for the south shoreline of Dauphin Lake and the east shoreline of Oak Lake.
• For tomorrow, there is a high lake wind warning in effect for the south shoreline of Lake Winnipeg, a moderate-high lake wind warning for the southern shoreline of Lake Winnipegosis and the eastern and western shores of the South Basin of Lake Winnipeg, and a moderate lake wind effect warning for the south shorelines of Lake Manitoba and Dauphin Lake.

Assiniboine River

• Brandon
  • Brandon experienced a local rainstorm yesterday.  The river rose slightly in response to the rain and has since receded.  Brandon is expected to remain near crest level for about another day before gradually declining.
  • Existing flood protection in Brandon is holding.  
• Portage Diversion
  • This morning, flows on the Assiniboine River at the Portage Diversion remained at
    47,600 cubic feet per second (cfs) cfs and will be increasing today due to the advancing second crest.  Flows on the Portage Diversion are approximately 29,600 cfs and flow on the Assiniboine River immediately downstream of the diversion is 18,000 cfs.
  • The second crest at the Portage Reservoir is forecast to be 52,000 to 53,000 cfs on July 14 and 15 and will remain high for a few days before declining.  It is expected the diversion will handle up to 35,000 cfs and 18,000 cfs will be maintained on the Assiniboine River between Portage la Prairie and Headingley.
  • The Hoop and Holler Bend remains ready to use for a controlled breach if an urgent situation arises.
  • Work undertaken in the past week has significantly strengthened the Portage Diversion and the Assiniboine River dikes.  The diversion and the dikes are in good condition and are expected to manage these forecast flows.
  • All flood protection remains in place and will be closely monitored.  The Canadian Armed Forces Aurora aircraft will continue to assist with monitoring dike and diversion conditions.

Lake Manitoba

• Increased flows on the Assiniboine River have led to a slight revision of the Lake Manitoba peak forecast reaching 814.8 ft by early August.
• Planning meetings have been held with communities along Lake Manitoba this weekend to prepare for forecasted lake levels over the next several weeks.  So far, 2,000 super sandbags have been distributed to municipalities.
• Wind-eliminated and wind-affected inundation maps have been prepared for possible flood scenarios on Lake Manitoba and can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/mit/floodinfo/floodoutlook/watersheds_data_maps.html.

Red River Floodway

• As of today, Red River levels have declined to the point where floodway gates have started to be lowered.  The operation of the floodway will gradually be shut down.

Parkland and Northern Manitoba

• Tributaries feeding into Dauphin Lake are declining and the water level is near crest and was recorded at 859.4 ft.
• The Carrot River near The Pas remains at 856.6 ft. today and is forecast to peak at 856.8 ft.
• The Saskatchewan River crested at just over 70,000 cfs and is beginning to decline.

General Information

• As of this morning, approximately 741 people are evacuated from their homes and communities due to flooding in 2014, including 160 evacuees related to spring flooding.
• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) reports that as of Friday at noon, this number includes approximately 517 people evacuated from Manitoba First Nations due to flooding in June and July.  Of these, 327 evacuees have registered with the Manitoba Association of Native Fire Fighters and are receiving temporary hotel accommodations, while the others are staying with friends and family in their communities.
• AANDC reports that First Nations are responsible for emergency preparedness and leading emergency response on reserve.  AANDC is in regular contact with First Nation communities, along with federal and provincial emergency management partners, to ensure community-level response activities are being supported. 
• Manitoba is providing updated river and lake level forecast information to First Nations communities, municipalities, Northern Affair communities, and emergency responders.
• The province is working directly with municipalities to address flooding issues.  As of this morning, 55 municipalities and communities have declared a state of local emergency.