WINNIPEG - Southern Manitoba is prepared better than ever for flood water forecasted to arrive any day, a spokesman for one rural area said Tuesday.
Reeve Herm Martens of the Rural Municipality of Morris said his region southwest of Winnipeg is ready to meet the rising Red River. The river's crest is expected to hit the border town of Emerson and then work its way through Morris this week before heading north to Winnipeg.
During the so-called flood of the century in 1997, more than half the municipality was under water and officials handed out over one million sandbags to homeowners.
But Martens said the mood is different now. This year, he said, sandbagging hasn't been necessary thanks to dikes and flood-proofing.
More than 95 per cent of people in the Morris municipality are protected to withstand water levels over and above the records set in 1997, Martens said.
"It's been pretty hectic but it's a different kind of scenario this time around because we're so well-prepared," he said. "There isn't quite the anxiety or the angst of destruction.
"But we know at the same time, there are things that could go wrong, so you are always on edge."
Flood forecasts have been steadily downgraded since last week, but the wild card remains river ice which has jammed in some areas and caused localized flooding.
Forecasters say the watermark this year could reach levels seen in 2006 when some roads and farm fields were washed out. Ice jams could raise levels to those seen in 1979 -- the province's second-worst flood -- but officials say there is a good chance some areas have already seen the worst.
Some 50 people in the community of Riverside, which was evacuated before the flood threat was downgraded, could be isolated if the road is washed out, Martens said.
"Most of those people have relatives they can stay with for a week or so. I don't see an interruption right now with the school. The majority of the kids will be able to get there."
However, 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 were also set to be shut down.
Officials in Manitoba are considering the unusual step of operating the Winnipeg floodway before ice has melted to save the city from a serious deluge. Forecasters planned to make the call Wednesday morning if thick ice on the river hadn't started to melt.
Already this year, 27 homes north of Winnipeg have been damaged -- mostly flooded basements -- by water that rose due to ice jams.
