Flood update: ‘Success so far’ in Brandon
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2011 (5636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The city and province are holding their breaths as the rising Assiniboine River appears to be nearing its record-breaking peak in Brandon.
Emergency Measures Organization Minister Steve Ashton described the Brandon flooding as a 1-in-300 year flood, with water flows in the Assiniboine about half that of Niagara Falls.
However, the last 1-in-300-year flood event in the province was on the Red River in the 1820s, meaning Manitoba is, literally, in uncharted waters.
"We have no experience in something of this magnitude," Ashton said during the province’s daily afternoon briefing. However, he said it had been "success so far" in Brandon.
The city is confident that they’ve done everything they can, but the weather has been a challenge.
"We are beginning to struggle with wet conditions," acknowledged the city’s emergency coordinator Brian Kayes, speaking of mud-covered workers.
"This is a significant high water event. We have not seen levels like this since Brandon was built," Kayes said.
A re-assessment of water flows shows that the river is very near its peak, although a very high water level is expected to continue for at least two more weeks — more, as the water slowly drops.
That means the flood fight will turn to maintaining and assessing the dikes, watching for erosion and seepage. A city official said that there had been no signs of erosion so far.
A thousand people remain evacuated from the south side of the Assiniboine in Brandon, but no further evacuations have yet been ordered. Police and security continue to patrol the area, and will stop and check anyone found in the evacuation zone.
About 225 hotel rooms are filled with evacuated people, while pothers have found their own lodgings. A city official said that billets of the Brandon University residence would be used if needed, as well.
Meanwhile, the provincial highways department continues to work to put up tube dikes along the Brandon east bypass, and it is hoped that Highway 110 will re-open — to heavy trucks only — as early as tomorrow.
Dike maintenance, reinforcement and pumping by crews continues along First Street and 18th Street.