Sandbagging efforts underway as state of emergency called in flood-hit Manitoba town

SWAN RIVER – A town in western Manitoba has declared a state of emergency after rapid rainfall caused nearby waterways to burst and flood parts of the community. 

The town of Swan River, 480 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg near the Saskatchewan boundary, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that the drenching has led to rising water levels and widespread overland flooding. 

It said the situation poses a risk to public safety, critical infrastructure and private property. 

Mayor Lance Jacobson estimates 190 millimetres of rain fell in the town since the weekend. 

“It’s been a challenge here to say the least,” he said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

“If you asked me 24 hours ago I’d say to you that we have no potential of any flooding because … it’s never been a situation that we would have to prepare for because it’s just never happened before.”

That changed Monday when the nearby Roaring River, a tributary of Swan River, burst its banks and caused the Tamarack Creek to overflow. 

“The creek is just not big enough to handle this volume of water, and the water just had nowhere else to go but into the town,” said Jacobson. 

By Monday evening, the industrial part of the town started to see flooding.

Some businesses in the area flooded and water has crept into some residential areas putting homes at risk. 

Volunteers, firefighters, RCMP officers and government employees were on hand to help with sandbagging efforts that carried on throughout the night.  

Premier Wab Kinew said whatever resources are needed for the area will be deployed. 

“There’s a lot of issues today and there will be in the coming days. Unfortunately, there is more rain expected in the forecast,” he told reporters at an unrelated event in Winnipeg. 

“All sorts of contingency plans have been activated.”

Jacobson said the province is considering opening up a section of a highway leading into Swan River to help water flow through the Tamarack Creek more quickly. 

Some in the town of roughly 4,000 have voluntarily left, but a mandatory evacuation order has not been issued for residents. 

The province’s latest flood bulletin issued on Tuesday said the Parkland Region, which Swan River is part of, could see up to 70 millimetres of rain in the coming days. 

A flood warning for western Manitoba, including the Parkland region, remains in effect. 

Several communities throughout the province continue to be impacted by high water levels, leading to the loss of road access, flooded properties and damage to infrastructure. 

Hundreds of residents in the Rural Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman were dealing with power outages Tuesday, though Manitoba Hydro said in the afternoon that power was back on in the town of Minitonas, restoring service for about 265 customers. 

The Crown-owned corporation had earlier said it was working with a local fire department to identify and isolate properties in Minitonas that have water damaged electrical panels. 

The south end of the community was expected to see an outage until Wednesday because a line serving the area is completely washed out, with 167 customers without power. 

“We are building about 1.5 kilometres of temporary line to bypass the damaged section, that involves setting about a dozen poles. Access remains difficult due to washed out roads and bridges,” said Manitoba Hydro spokesman Peter Chura. 

“Crews coming from Swan River can only use back roads that won’t support heavy equipment, so bucket trucks and diggers had to come from Dauphin.”

The province said areas in southern, eastern and central Manitoba, including the Interlake region, could receive between 30 and 50 millimetres of rain this week. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2026. 

— By Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg, with files from Ian Bickis.