Premier, EMO director praise Brandon’s measures

Premier Wab Kinew commended residents and officials in Brandon, Sioux Valley and Minnedosa on Friday over the proactive measures they’ve taken to lessen the impacts of flooding in their communities.

“I think folks are doing a good job of trying to anticipate and prepare,” Kinew said during a flooding update that largely focused on recovery efforts in the Parkland.

“Based on the hydrologic forecast, I think Brandon is doing a good job of preparing.”

Brandon has “excellent emergency response plans,” said Christine Stevens, the director of the province’s Emergency Management Organization.

“They’ve got the script. They’re well prepared for this event,” she said about the expected water level peak on Monday.

Mayor Jeff Fawcett didn’t provide a flood update on Friday like he did the two days prior, as a city official said previous updates had not changed.

Floodwaters as of Thursday were expected to rise just below both 2011 and 2014 water levels. Crews, however, have built temporary dikes and have sandbagged areas close to the river.

Meanwhile, in the city’s flood warning zone, Aurora Reunification Village’s wellness director said his organization’s plan would be to move all the about 45 tenants to Aurora’s other centre in Gimli if an evacuation were to happen.

“It’s very straightforward for us because we have another facility in Gimli, Manitoba, (and) all of the families would just would temporarily be placed there,” Mark Shepit said.

“So we have transport lined up and staff that are able to transport.”

Staff at the centre south of the river have been in communication with residents about how they should prepare as well.

“Should the flood risk increase to the point where evacuation does become a lot more likely, or even imminent, then we just begin transporting,” he said. “The families are informed of what to pack already, and we have room at the other location.”

The alternative to driving more than 300 kilometres to Gimli would be to register with city and evacuation officials at the Keystone Centre, and go from there, which Aurora didn’t believe was as good a plan, especially as there is plenty of room for the residents in Gimli.

Also in the flood-prone area, the John Howard Society of Brandon’s transitional housing director, Carla McDonald, said they will follow the city’s protocol it has set for all would be flood-impacted residents.

“We’ve been working alongside the City of Brandon in following all the things that they are preparing for there, so our guys are well looked after,” McDonald said.

“Our staff have been working along with them, ensuring that they understand that if we are evacuated, we’ll follow the measures that the city has put in place and support them as they’re displaced for a little bit.”

There are plans to make sure the residents are safe and will have a place to sleep at night. The society currently has 15 people staying with them.

“I think it’ll be a smooth transition, and we’ll just continue to support them with wherever they end up.”

» alambert@brandonsun.com