Selkirk, Manitoba and nearby communities are under a flood warning after heavy rainfall drenched the region earlier this week. Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre issued the warning for areas between Winnipeg and Lake Winnipeg, including Selkirk, Petersfield, Stonewall, Woodlands, and Inwood. The warning comes as some locations have been hit with well over 200 millimetres of rain, causing streams and rivers to rise rapidly and leading to localized flooding.
The storm swept through southern Manitoba on June 9 and 10, breaking records and overwhelming drainage systems. Rain gauge reports show 255 millimetres near Stonewall, 230 millimetres near Petersfield, and 121 millimetres near Woodlands. These are amounts that Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor has called horrific and far beyond what typical infrastructure can handle.
Residents in the flood-warned areas are being told to stay alert and avoid driving through any flooded roads or fast-moving water. The Canadian Red Cross has set up a sandbag filling machine in Selkirk to help protect homes and properties as waters keep rising. Volunteers and local agencies are working together to supply sandbags where they are needed most.
The situation may get worse before it gets better. More rain is in the forecast for eastern and northeastern Manitoba through Thursday and Friday, June 11 and 12. Widespread totals of 40 to 80 millimetres are possible, with even higher amounts where thunderstorms develop. However, forecasters say the heaviest rain has already passed through western and southern parts of the province, so conditions there are not expected to get much worse.
The intense storm also packed a punch beyond just rain. It brought tornadoes, hail as big as tennis balls, and wind gusts over 100 kilometres per hour. Beyond the flooding, the storm cut power to more than 25,000 Manitoba Hydro customers, with some outages expected to last into Thursday. Premier Wab Kinew toured the Swan River area, where local municipalities declared a state of emergency, and promised disaster financial help for hard-hit communities. For now, Selkirk and its neighbours are focused on keeping people safe as the water keeps rising.
