Houses in Manitoba more evacuated as Red River rises

About 50 homes North of Winnipeg were evacuated Saturday morning because of rising waters, a provincial agency has opened the doors of the Red River Floodway.

Homes, mainly on the road to Jenny in the Netley Creek area of rural municipality of St. Andrews, are more accessible by road, and residents are having to leave by boat. Evacuations began Saturday morning to 8 pm CT.

An elderly couple was forced to leave their homes and left by boat late Friday night when flood waters invaded their property.

He was part of a night tense for emergency teams in the region such as jams developed and then exploded several times, creating rapid and unpredictable rises and falls in water levels.

A voluntary evaucation notice was still in force in the rural municipality of St. Andrews. Sean Kavanagh CBC "it surprises you each time: where and when it will stop,"Darcy Hardman, the Coordinator for emergency in St. Andrews, told CBC News.""We just go with the beating. ?

On Saturday, emergency officials were asking other owners in the area to prepare to leave quickly, collection of drugs and other personal items of value so that they can move at any time.

An ice jam that led to flooding Friday on Breezy Point Road was to the North, the prefect of St. Andrews, said Saturday.

Don said Forfar CBC News he hoped to provincial officials, who monitor developments with a helicopter, on the current location of the jam hear.

He said that the new concern is Netley Creek.

"That whole area we expected," said Forfar. "We have always believed that Netley Creek was vulnerable".

Forfar, said that the rural municipality has continued its notice of voluntary evacuation.

"Some people have left and many remain", he said. "And what we said people is: you can stay, but you do not have to be prepared." Which means not only you have to have your pumps, but you have gas flow, or is it power you would better have a generator if the power goes because if you leave, you get back again. ?

He said 50 houses that have been affected by flooding many were cottages.

In St. Clements, across the Red River, there is no evacuation of the overnight despite previous alerts. All 40 houses which have been considered at risk as ice jams threatened to cause flooding backup were still high and dry Saturday morning.

St. Clements Mayor Steve Strang told CBC he gives credit for this fact to the residents by adopting a more proactive approach on sandbagging this year than in past years, when many homes were flooded.

"I was so pleased that we did not send our people to emergency y to save the lives of other people again this year", he said. "To relive that would have been totally wrong…."

"I remember people standing on their desks, their roofs, waiting to be registered in 2009".

During this time, the diversion canal to divert water from the Red River, mounted around the capital of the city of Winnipeg was activated as expected Saturday morning.

The water runs in Winnipeg (background) Floodway to prevent flooding of the Red River (first plan) within the city in April 2009. Areas to the North and South of Winnipeg have suffered from high water in the spring. John Woods/Canadian water PressManitoba had announced late Friday that the Red River Floodway would open its inlet control structure to 9 pm CT, with a horn begins one-half hour prior to the neighbouring alerts.

"The progressive lifting of the doors is designed to protect the city of Winnipeg, while now water levels in the South of the entrance of the Floodway to natural levels," officials said in a Friday newsletter.

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