The Assiniboine River is expected to continue rising in Brandon, Man., this week and the city is using the next few days to reinforce its protective measures.
The water is “expected to peak in Brandon on or about July 13,” the province wrote in a flood bulletin Wednesday.
At their highest, levels are expected to rise by seven to eight feet — more than two metres, according to Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett. The water will remain at that level for a few days before receding, he said at a news conference Wednesday.
Mitigation efforts, including traditional sandbags, so-called “super sandbags,” and tube-style “Tiger Dam” barriers, are being deployed ahead of the crest, Fawcett said.
“There are a few (homes) that are sort of on outliers in the east end (of the city) that, themselves, have some dike system in place now. So, it’s not as much sandbagging as it was historically,” Fawcett said.
“The dike is protecting almost everyone,” he continued, noting that one home may need to be evacuated when the river peaks.
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No evacuation order has been issued by the city yet, Fawcett said.
If one is called, the mayor said 4,000 to 5,000 residents may need to temporarily depart from Brandon, but he cautioned that was a rough estimate, saying it “may not even be that many.”
Residents are encouraged to prepare an emergency go bag, he said. Inside, the mayor recommended including important documents, medication, clothing and other essentials.
“Everyone in the (affected) area kind of knows it’s around the river,” Fawcett told reporters.
For the next several days, the province expects “no significant precipitation,” it said in its flood bulletin.
“Forecast conditions are expected to support continued declines on most waterways and allow recovery efforts to progress in affected areas,” the provincial update reads.
If that forecast is accurate, Brandon’s mayor said he’s confident the city’s infrastructure is ready.
“We’re controlling everything we can control. And it’s the things that we can’t that we’re going to be ready to adapt to,” Fawcett said.
Brandon declared a 30-day flood-related state of local emergency over the weekend. On Saturday, Fawcett told Global News that the city’s declaration allowed early access to additional provincial resources.
Levels in most Manitoban waterways were said to be returning to normal in the province’s bulletin.
It said Manitoba’s active flood response plan remains in effect as communities, including Brandon, prepare for and face the impacts of the worst of the flooding.
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