WINNIPEG - Residents of Manitoba's Red River Valley who have been sandbagging their properties and bracing for flood water from North Dakota received more good news Monday.
Provincial flood forecasters downgraded predictions for the river's crest in southern areas by 150 centimetres -- the third such downgrade in a week.
"The snow is melting slowly. We still have cool nights, and with the sunshine during the day, this is ideal melt conditions," senior forecaster Alf Warkentin said.
The province is not totally on high ground yet. Ice jams in Winnipeg and further north could cause sudden localized flooding in the days to come.
But there are many signs of confidence.
"Everything is looking fine," said Wayne Arseny, mayor of Emerson, the small border town first in line to see the rising water.
"We're just awaiting the water and hopefully it will just be an inconvenience and we will watch it go by."
Emerson, surrounded by high dikes, also has sandbags at the ready. But it hasn't needed to use them yet and may not need them at all when the river crests. That's expected Wednesday.
There are still worries within Winnipeg that ice jams could form later this week at some of the city's many bridges and cause the river to rise suddenly, forming an early crest. Homeowners in low-lying riverfront areas have been piling up sandbags as a precaution. Two amphibious ice-breaking machines are available to dig channels through the ice and keep the water flowing north to Lake Winnipeg.
"We're about as well-prepared as you could ever be ... but this is a very rapidly developing situation," said Water Stewardship Minister Steve Ashton.
Motorists are expected to bear the brunt of the rising water. The province announced it would close sections of Highway 75 -- the main link between Winnipeg and the United States border -- as of noon Tuesday because of expected washouts. A few secondary roads are also set to be shut down.
Some low-lying communities that flood regularly may be evacuated later this week, including the Roseau River reserve near Emerson. Most of the reserve's 800 residents had been told to leave as a precautionary measure last month, but many returned home last week when the flood threat decreased.
Manitoba officials believe the province is much better able to battle floods than North Dakota. The province expanded community ring dikes and upgraded a diversion channel around Winnipeg after the so-called flood of the century in 1997.
Ice jams usually cause the biggest problems. Already this year, 27 homes north of Winnipeg have been damaged -- mostly flooded basements -- by water that rose due to ice jams in the Lockport area. The ice was deteriorating Monday and little further trouble in the area was expected.
