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As if digging their farm out of a late-season blizzard wasn’t enough, Larry and Chris Hamblin are now preparing for the highest flood Manitoba has seen this century.
It’s the worst-case scenario for residents of the province’s Red River Valley.
“We use the boat in the summer so it’s always ready but we’ll be giving it a final check this week,” said Chris Hamblin, of St. Jean.
If melting occurs here as North Dakota’s floodwaters begin flowing north, the worst flood in 136 years could inundate southern Manitoba next week, provincial flood forecasters are predicting.
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“I’m just hoping our melt doesn’t coincide with their crest,” said Larry Whitney, head of the province’s flood preparation program.
The record blizzard that paralyzed southern parts of the province in early April will add about half a metre of water to the previous flood forecast, he said.
Tributaries between Grand Forks and Winnipeg are expected to crest above last year’s levels, probably around April 20-25.
Riverside homeowners in Winnipeg and in rural areas are piling sandbags and building earth dikes to protect their homes from the water.
Last year’s flood reached three metres above flood stage, swamping 712 sq. kilometres of prime farmland and delaying spring seeding for as long as a month.
There is about a 50-50 chance this year’s flood will match peak floods of the century, in 1950 and 1979 at Morris when 1,036 sq. km of land were under water.
The worst flood to hit Manitoba’s Red River Valley occurred in 1826, cresting at about two metres higher than the 1950 and 1979 floods, Whitney said.
“If we get a flood greater than ’50 or ’79 we’re getting into very unfamiliar territory,” Whitney said.
In response to the latest forecast, the province is raising ring dikes in five southern Manitoba communities, including St. Adolphe, Dominion City, St. Jean, Letellier and Emerson.
Towns could be evacuated if it looks like residents will be cut off from food, supplies and services.
Altona agricultural representative Les Kletke said some dairy farmers in the region are moving their herds to barns in Winkler. Hog producers so far are planning to surround their barns with sandbags, stock up enough feed for two weeks and hope for the best.
“Last year was a kind of training for what we could get,” Kletke said.
