WINNIPEG – Lorne Hamblin is putting an optimistic spin on the flood in the Red River Valley.
“With a nice sunny day and a lakefront home, what more could you ask for?” joked Hamblin, who lives and farms between Morris and St. Jean, Man.
The Red River was expected to crest by May 1 at levels slightly below the last big flood, which evacuated towns in 1979.
But a spokesperson for the natural resources department said almost 1,000 sq. kilometres of land in the valley is under water. Manitoba Agriculture estimates 98,000 acres of farmland have been affected.
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The Hamblins farm about 3,000 acres and Lorne estimated about 2,500 were under water.
To get to the highway, the Hamblins must jump in a boat. Their vehicles are parked on an elevated railway bank nearby.
“In ’79 we boated for 30 days, and I suspect we’ll be looking at two or three weeks (this year),” Hamblin said.
Like many farm families in the area, the Hamblins built their home on top of a man-made hill. It’s about one metre above the level officials calculate water reaches once every 100 years, and four metres above prairie level.
A couple of days before the river peaked, the water was lapping a metre below their home.
“If we get wet, then there’s going to be an awful pile of people in trouble,” Hamblin noted.
His granaries are also “high and dry.” Hamblin and his brother Don moved seed to higher land before the flood.
He said his seeding plans are changing day by day. He doesn’t expect to seed his flooded land until June. Usually, he’s done by May 10.
“It’s in the hands of Mother Nature but she usually tends to compensate one way or another.”
